Social Outcomes in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Perspectives from Social Neuroscience and Developmental Psychology

“Trying to Get a Grip”: Language Competence and Self-Reported Satisfaction With Social Relationships Three Decades Post-Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury

“…12,56 In addition, individuals with a history of childhood TBI reported lower satisfaction with their social relationships, which is congruent with adverse social outcomes reported in previous studies investigating social functioning following childhood TBI. 13,15,16,62,80 Considering the interplay between both domains, the current findings support findings suggesting that communication impairments are associated with poor social outcomes. 16,46,56,57 The current results provide a preliminary insight into the very long-term outcomes in high-level language and social outcomes, as well as the interplay between these 2 domains for individuals who are several decades postinjury and provide an important extension of previous findings (up to 14 years post-childhood TBI 16,18,62,69 or only presented evidence based on 1 case 50 years postinjury 19 ).…”

“…39,61 Of particular importance for this dual disadvantage is the recently proposed notion that postinjury language ability might contribute to social outcomes in children. 13,16,18,62 The term social outcomes has been broadly used to refer to outcomes across several core components, including social adjustment, social interaction, social competence, social functioning, social problem solving, and social participation. 13,16,18,62,63 Social competence requires the individual to attend to others, prevent inappropriate behaviors, respond adaptively in social settings, communicate effectively, and interpret others' meanings.…”

“…13,16,18,62 The term social outcomes has been broadly used to refer to outcomes across several core components, including social adjustment, social interaction, social competence, social functioning, social problem solving, and social participation. 13,16,18,62,63 Social competence requires the individual to attend to others, prevent inappropriate behaviors, respond adaptively in social settings, communicate effectively, and interpret others' meanings. 55,59,62 As more sophisticated cognitive functions develop and a young child's social contexts widen, 63 changes in social behavior occur as the brain's capacity to manage social environments and interactions increases.…”

“…[66][67][68] Social outcomes have been indicated to be a joint product of TBI deficits and the child's broader social interactions, such as peer relationships. 13 Considering that social interactions frequently occur via conversations, it is not surprising that a link has been proposed between compromised language abilities and a decreased capability to engage in quality social interactions following childhood TBI. 9,10,16,63 Indeed, Anderson and colleagues 62 reported that poorer communication skills contributed to lower social adjustment and decreased social participation at 6 months postinjury.…”

Social dysfunction after pediatric traumatic brain injury: A translational perspective

“…Over the past decade, however, impairments in social functioning after TBI have garnered increased recognition, with psychosocial problems often reported as causing significant and persisting distress for parents, teachers and carers (Catroppa et al, 2008; Catroppa et al, 2012; Cattelani et al, 1998; Chapman et al, 2010; Li and Liu, 2013). Social dysfunction can profoundly influence psychological well-being, academic and workplace performance, and community integration (Rosema et al, 2012; Rosema et al, 2014), contributing to a decline in quality of life (QoL) for survivors of childhood TBI (Di Battista et al, 2012; Williams et al, 2014; Yeates, 2013). …”