TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS - PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDERS IN THE 2ND 3 MONTHS

Psychiatric disorders may be common after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children, yet there is a dearth of prospective studies examining t his problem. Fifty children aged 6 to 14, hospitalized after TBI, were assessed soon after TBI regarding preinjury psychiatric, behavioral, adaptive, and family functioning, family psychiatric history status an d injury severity. The outcome measure was the presence of a ''novel'' psychiatric disorder (not present before the injury) during the secon d 3 months after the injury. Forty-two subjects were reassessed at 6 m onths. Severity of injury, family psychiatric history, and family func tion predicted a novel psychiatric disorder. Among children suffering a mild/moderate injury, those with preinjury lifetime psychiatric diso rders were no longer (as they had been in the first 3 months) at highe r risk than those without such a lifetime history. Thus, there appeare d to be children, identifiable through clinical assessment, at increas ed risk for novel psychiatric disorders after TBI.