Home Environment as a Predictor of Long-Term Executive Functioning following Early Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury
Home Environment as a Predictor of Long-Term Executive Functioning following Early Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury | Journal of International Neuropsychological Society Vol 24, issue 1, Jan 2018
This study examined the relationship of the home environment to long-term executive functioning (EF) following early childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Participants (N=134) were drawn from a larger parent study of 3- to 6-year-old children hospitalized for severe TBI (n=16), complicated mild/moderate TBI (n=44), or orthopedic injury (OI; n=74), recruited prospectively at four tertiary care hospitals in the United States and followed for an average of 6.8 years post-injury. Quality of the home environment, caregiver psychological distress, and general family functioning were assessed shortly after injury (i.e., early home) and again at follow-up (i.e., late home). Participants completed several performance-based measures of EF at follow-up.
Conclusions: The home environment is not a consistent predictor of long-term EF in children with early TBI and OI, but may moderate the effects of TBI on EF.
The findings suggest that interventions designed to improve the quality of stimulation in children’s home environments might reduce the long-term effects of early childhood TBI on EF.
(JINS, 2018, 24, 11–21)
