Continued behavior changes in preschool-aged children with mild TBIs

This content was originally authored by Katie Taylor in the 10/10/19 edition of our Weekly Concussion Update newsletter.

The Journal of Pediatric Psychology recently published a study by Charlotte Gagner et al. that documents how mTBI in early childhood can lead to changes in externalizing behaviors (actions towards others) and internalizing behaviors (attitudes towards the self) over time. The researchers recorded these behaviors by administering The Child Behavior Checklist to 226 preschool-aged children. They did this at 6, 18, and 30 months post-injury with children who had a history of mTBI and then compared the results with children who had no history of mTBI, including children who sustained an orthopedic injury.

They found that, for at least eighteen months post-injury, preschool-aged children who sustain mTBIs show significantly more behavioral problems than preschool-aged children who do not sustain mTBIs or who sustain orthopedic injuries. These symptoms can last up to thirty months and are complicated by external factors that make patients more vulnerable to stressors, such as a concussion. They also note that the majority of pediatric concussion patients experience behavioral changes that do not need to be monitored clinically, but there is a subset of patients who require clinical supervision.