Attentional skills following traumatic brain injury in childhood: a componential analysis

Abstract

Recent research has documented residual deficits in attention following traumatic brain injury in childhood. The present study aimed to investigate whether such deficits are global, or affect specific components of attention differentially. Four attentional domains were examined using a newly developed test of attention, the Test of Everyday Attention for Children: sustained attention, focussed attention, divided attention, and response inhibition. Eighteen children with a history of traumatic brain injury, aged between 8 and 14 years, and 18 non-injured matched controls participated in the study. Results indicated that attentional skills may be differentially impaired after TBI, with children who have sustained moderate-to-severe TBI exhibiting significant deficits for sustained and divided attention, and response inhibition, but relatively intact focussed attention.