Behavioral and Emotional Functioning of Children with Traumatic Brain Injuries: Level of Injury Severity and Cognitive Functioning as it Relates to Parent-Child Report of Psychopathology
Abstract
The present study examined the cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning of children who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI), in terms of severity of the injury and parent-child agreement. The study drew upon archival Ara of assessment measures completed during neuropsychological evaluations in a hospital setting. A series of Pearson correlations and t-tests were performed to examine the relationship between child and parent ratings of psychopathology symptoms and cognitive variables. Results indicated significant relationships between the child's cognitive abilities and parent and child reports of psychopathology. Further, parental report of children's psychopathology correlated with General Abilities Index (GAI), while children's self-report of psychopathology was correlated with the GAI and the Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI). Results of the t tests suggested that the abilities measured by the CPI, remain relatively stable regardless of the severity of the injury, while abilities as measured by the GAI are negatively impacted and show a much greater decrease based on the severity of the injury. Additional t-test analyses compared children's ratings of psychopathology to their parents' ratings on numerous variables. Overall, though the data revealed significant differences in parent and child perception of the child's psychopathology regarding overall internalizing problems, there were no significant differences in parent and child report of child psychopathology based on severity of the injury. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on TBI by highlighting the impact of neurocognitive impairment on severity of psychopathology and demonstrating the discrepancy between parent and child report with regard to diagnostic symptomatology.
Subject Area
Developmental psychology|Clinical psychology
Recommended Citation
McShane, Erin C, "Behavioral and Emotional Functioning of Children with Traumatic Brain Injuries: Level of Injury Severity and Cognitive Functioning as it Relates to Parent-Child Report of Psychopathology" (2017). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI10609630.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI10609630
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