The impact of injury severity on long-term social outcome following paediatric traumatic brain injury

Despite suggestions that paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) disrupts social skill development, few studies have investigated long-term social outcome following the transition into adulthood. The current study aimed to investigate long-term social outcome, in a sample of 36 survivors who suffered a mild, moderate or severe TBI between 8 and 12 years of age. At 7-10 years post-injury, the age of participants ranged between 16 and 22 years. Social outcome was assessed using a number of self-rated and parent-rated questionnaires, in order to obtain self- and other-rated accounts of the groups' current social functioning. Predictors of long-term social outcome were also explored, with findings suggesting that young people who suffered mild TBI during childhood tended to be functioning at a higher level on some measures of social functioning, compared to those that suffered a moderate and severe injury. Further, results suggested that pre-injury adaptive functioning and socio-economic status predicted long-term functioning for some measures of social outcome. Finally, social problem-solving skills predicted the success of social reintegration post-TBI. These preliminary findings indicate that there is a risk of social difficulties following paediatric TBI continuing into adulthood, and that a number of demographic, social, and neuropsychological variables continue to predict social outcome even at this late stage post-injury.