Self-awareness following a traumatic brain injury in childhood: a developmental perspective

Conceptual framework of the recovery of self-awareness following a severe traumatic brain injury in childhood

INTRODUCTION

Self-awareness following a TBI in childhood is an under-represented area of research in the pediatric literature. The issue is well described in the adult literature but the theories and practice recommendations in this body of literature are not easily transferable to pediatric neurorehabilitation. Children and young people sustain a TBI at a time when the brain is yet to fully develop. This paper outlines a conceptual framework that incorporates and adapts knowledge from the adult and pediatric literature of self-awareness.

METHODS

The content and the structure of the framework is constructed from clinical experience, existing literature and the findings from an empirical study.

FINDINGS

A conceptual framework is presented with 3 key components: self-awareness knowledge, self-awareness in context, self-awareness for the future. The components are explained and the relationship between the concepts is highlighted.

CONCLUSION

The framework provides a common language for clinicians and academics to explore the concepts that impact self-awareness during recovery. The framework captures the dynamic developmental and recovery trajectory of self-awareness following a TBI in childhood.

Young People's Experiences of Returning to Physical Leisure Activities after a Severe Acquired Brain Injury

AIMS

To understand the experiences of young people returning to physical leisure activities following a severe acquired brain injury (ABI).

METHODS

Seven young people (5 male; 14-19 years) participated. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people who sustained a severe ABI 1-3 years prior to the study. Data thematically analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase approach.

RESULTS

Three main themes were created: My changing sense of identity around physical activity after my brain injury (how important physical activity was to them, how participation changed following their ABI); Why I take part in physical leisure activities (fun, friendships, help with recovery and physical and emotional health); and I can't do it alone (need for trusted adults to practically and emotionally support them to try and activities and continue to participate).

DISCUSSION

Returning to physical leisure activities after ABI was important to young people, especially if they were active prior to their injury. However, participating with changed abilities was practically and emotionally challenging. Services need a multidisciplinary approach to ensure young people are supported with psychological processes of loss, adjustment, identity and resilience in addition to the practical help necessary to enable meaningful participation in activities they consider fun.

A new model to guide identity-focused multidisciplinary rehabilitation for children and young people following acquired brain injury: I-FoRM

A complexity of biological, psychological, environmental and systemic factors influences a child's adaption after acquired brain injury (ABI), all of which transform as the child matures. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams are challenged by balancing family system needs and the child's needs, whilst promoting the child's functional skills in difficult or unappealing tasks. This paper presents the conceptual basis for a model for use in childhood ABI neurorehabilitation to address these challenges. A non-systematic narrative review of literature pertinent to integrated neurorehabilitation of pediatric ABI was conducted. Contemporary models of adult and pediatric psychosocial adaptation involving identity following ABI were reviewed. Key findings were then synthesized with models of pediatric resilience and self-concept development. The resulting model describes a cyclical adaptation process whereby the child learns experientially about their self and their world after ABI. Processes of identity development play a central role - particularly emotive processes of self-evaluation - by influencing the child's motivation for participation, tolerance for challenge, self-regulation and emerging self-awareness. The model directs clinicians to use the psychosocial processes of identity development to enhance the child's willingness and capacity to engage in the daily challenges of rehabilitation. Further systematic development and evaluation of the model is needed.

A mapping review of adolescent identity after TBI: what clinicians need to know

ABSTRACTAdolescence is a critical period for developing a sense of identity, an iterative process that relies on the development of skills such as self-reflection and self-appraisal. Outcomes of identity development include personal ethics, knowledge of one's strengths and challenges, and, ultimately, independence. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects these outcomes in adults, when identity has been established and may need to be redefined; but what happens when an injury occurs while identity is being formed? To answer this question, we used mapping review methodology to explore TBI effects on adolescent identity formation, mapping the evidence onto a biopsychosocial framework for rehabilitation. We reviewed studies on identity in adolescents with mild to severe TBI ages 13-18 years, published from inception to 2021, with a focus on outpatient rehabilitation settings. Key findings of the mapping review noted adolescents post-TBI are likely to: (1) question their identity considering dissonance between the current self and their pre-injury self; and (2) seek to establish new, adaptive meanings and identities. All studies drew conclusions regarding identity and participation of adolescents post-TBI. Results provided insight into the importance of considering individualized rehabilitation interventions for adolescents, given their unique developmental path towards identity formation.

Online Awareness among Adolescents with Acquired Brain Injury: Preliminary Findings following Performance of Motor, Cognitive and Functional Tasks

Aims: Online awareness is an ongoing ability to monitor performance within the stream of action. It involves the ability to detect errors emerging during actual performance, as well as to anticipate potential problems. This preliminary within-subject study aimed to evaluate emergent and anticipatory online awareness among adolescents with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) during performance of motor, cognitive and functional tasks.Methods: 14 adolescents (11-18 years) following ABI were recruited. Before and after completion of the tasks, participants fulfilled task-related awareness questionnaires.Results: In the motor task, no significant correlations were found between heart rate and the subjective perceived exertion scale (emergent awareness). In the cognitive task, no significant correlations were found between the estimated difficulty before the task (anticipatory awareness) and actual performance, however a significant correlation was found between performance and the self-evaluation of performance (emergent awareness), in the easiest item of the task. In the functional task, two main patterns of online awareness were recognized: accurate and overestimation of performance.Conclusions: Online awareness deficits in adolescents after ABI, vary as a function of task characteristics. Clinicians who aim to improve online awareness should direct interventions to mainly include functional tasks, as compared to cognitive and motor tasks.

Impaired Self-Awareness after Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Protective Factor or Liability?

Children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can experience impaired self-awareness, or difficulty in accurately perceiving their personal abilities. This study aimed to identify the neuro-developmental and socio-environmental factors associated with self-awareness impairment and determine how self-awareness is associated with psychosocial functioning. Parents and their children age 8-16 years with TBI (n = 107, 65.4% male, mean [M] age = 12.66 years, standard deviation [SD] = 2.6 years) were consecutively recruited from an outpatient clinic over a 4-year period. Children completed the Paediatric Awareness Questionnaire (PAQ) to report their functional abilities, and the Beck Youth Inventories to report their self-concept, and anxiety and depression symptoms. Parents completed the PAQ and measures of family functioning, parenting style, and children's emotional and behavioral problems. Self-awareness impairments were defined as more negative parent-child discrepancy scores on the PAQ. Younger age at injury, more severe injury, and more family dysfunction were significantly associated with poorer self-awareness. Poorer self-awareness was associated with worse parent-rated child adaptive functioning and emotional and behavioral problems. However, poorer self-awareness was also significantly associated with more positive self-concept and fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety as rated by children. Overall, impaired self-awareness seems to be both a liability and a benefit depending on the reporter (parent or child) and outcome of interest (adaptive function/behavior or self-concept/mood).