Citation

Kennedy E, Cohen M, Munafó M. J. Head Trauma Rehabil. 2017; 32(6): 425-432.

Affiliation

MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, United Kingdom (Ms Kennedy and Dr Munafò); and College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, United Kingdom (Ms Cohen).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/HTR.0000000000000289

PMID

28092286

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the evidence that childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with risk behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Risk behavior included one or more of the following: use of substances, including alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances; involvement in criminal behavior; and behavioral issues with conduct.

METHODS: A literature search was conducted using these terms: child, pediatric, traumatic brain injury, head injury, adolescent, psychosocial, antisocial, conduct, substance use. Studies describing original research were included if they reported outcomes over the age of 13 years in participants who sustained a TBI between birth and age 13 years.

RESULTS: Six journal articles were reviewed based on 4 separate studies. Three articles indicated a relationship between childhood TBI and increased problematic substance use in adolescence and young adulthood. Three articles supported an association between childhood TBI and later externalizing behavior; however, 2 articles did not support this link.

CONCLUSION: More research is warranted to explore the association between childhood TBI and later risk behavior as the relationship is not currently understood. Future research should build on existing longitudinal research with continued use of medical records for identifying TBI and inclusion of a non-brain-related trauma group to control for general injury effects.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

Language: en