Impact of childhood traumatic brain injury on educational outcomes and adult standard of living

Background: There is a limited literature investigating the long-term impact of traumatic brain injury sustained in childhood that compares injury severity with educational attainment, employment, material standard of living, or receipt of government benefits in adulthood. Method: A total of 161 participants who sustained an injury prior to age 18 years, aged between 18 and 30 years, and averaged 13.7 years postinjury. Injuries were mild traumatic brain injury (n = 57), moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (n = 62), and orthopedic injury control group (n = 42). Results: Using a semi-structured interview, with the exception of employment outcomes, adult survivors of childhood traumatic brain injury had poorer outcomes across all domains assessed relative to the other injury control group, with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury having worse outcomes than those with mild traumatic brain injury. Conclusions: Overall, the findings indicate that there is a greater need to consider the long-term impact of traumatic brain injury sustained in childhood, with injury severity impacting several psychosocial domains in adulthood, including education, material standard of living, and benefit recipiency.