ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY SYMPTOMATOLOGY AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

Citation
Je. Max et al., ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY SYMPTOMATOLOGY AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(8), 1998, pp. 841-847
Citations number
28
Categorie Soggetti
Psychiatry,"Psychology, Developmental",Psychiatry,Pediatrics
ISSN journal
08908567
Volume
37
Issue
8
Year of publication
1998
Pages
841 - 847
Database
ISI
SICI code
0890-8567(1998)37:8<841:AHSATB>2.0.ZU;2-O
Abstract
Objective: To study prospectively the course of attention-deficit hype ractivity (ADH) symptomatology in children and adolescents after traum atic brain injury (TBI). It was hypothesized that ADH symptomatology w ould be significantly related to severity of injury. Method: Subjects were children (n = 50) aged 6 to 14 years at the time they were hospit alized after TBI.The study used a prospective follow-up design. Assess ments of preinjury psychiatric, behavioral, socioeconomic, family func tioning, and family psychiatric history status were conducted. Severit y of injury was assessed by standard clinical scales, and neuroimaging was analyzed. Results: The main finding of this study was that change in ADH symptomatology in the first 2 years after TBI in children and adolescents was significantly related to severity of injury. Overall A DH symptomatology during the study was significantly related to a meas ure of family dysfunction when family psychiatric history, socioeconom ic status, and severity of injury were controlled. Conclusion: The pre sence of a positive ''dose-response'' relationship between severity of injury and change in ADH symptoms, present from the 3-month assessmen t, was consistent with an effect directly related to brain damage.