title: A preliminary investigation of moral reasoning and empathy after traumatic brain injury in adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained during childhood can affect a number of socio-cognitive skills; however, little attention has focused on the integrity of moral reasoning in the assessment of post-TBI social sequelae and the role of empathy and intelligence on moral maturity.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a quasi-experimental, cross-sectional research design, moral reasoning maturity and empathy in adolescents with mild-to-severe TBI (n = 25) were compared to typically-developing peers (n = 66).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were administered the So-Moral and So-Mature, tasks of socio-moral reasoning and maturity, the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and a demographic questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants with TBI had significantly lower levels of moral reasoning maturity. Further, adolescents with moderate-to-severe TBI had lower levels of empathy. Empathy correlated positively with moral reasoning abilities and, together with intellectual function, predicted a small, but significant proportion of moral reasoning outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Youth who sustained TBI during childhood have poorer moral reasoning abilities than their non-injured peers, potentially placing them at risk for poor social decision-making and socially maladaptive behaviour. This can have a significant impact on long-term social functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada. miriam.beauchamp@umontreal.ca
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Beauchamp
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Dooley
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D041923:Adolescent Development; D001315:Australia; D035841:Behavioral Research; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004645:Empathy; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012934:Social Isolation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires