Teacher-Reported Behavioral Disturbances in Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: An Examination of the BASC-2

Abstract

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with behavioral disturbances that can interfere with adjustment in the classroom. As such, standardized assessments of behavioral disturbances following TBI are useful in treatment planning and rehabilitation, although few studies have examined the sensitivity of standardized behavior assessments to behavioral abnormalities in this population. The present study compared the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Second Edition Teacher Rating Scale (BASC-2 TRS) profiles of 25 children who sustained TBI to those of 25 matched controls and to the BASC-2 standardization sample. Results indicated that teachers endorsed externalizing and school-related problems more severely and frequently than internalizing problems, with the greatest elevations on the Hyperactivity, Attention Problems, and Learning Problems subscales. In addition, BASC-2 scores appeared unrelated to IQ but were influenced by achievement functioning. Findings are consistent with previous studies of behavioral abnormalities in children with TBI and provide support for the usefulness of the BASC-2 TRS in evaluating behavioral disturbances in children that result from TBI.

Key words:

• assessment/diagnosis
• child/clinical/pediatric
• school
• tests
• trauma

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Normal comparison data were from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-Second Edition standardization sample. Copyright 2004 by Pearson, San Antonio, TX. Used with permission. All rights reserved. We thank the BASC-2 publisher for allowing access to the standardization data.

Notes

*Age, gender, and ethnicity were matched in the control sample.

Note. Expected at-risk percentage within the normative population is 17%, while the expected clinically significant percentage is 4%.