Dimensions of postconcussive symptoms in children with mild traumatic brain injuries

The dimensions of postconcussive Symptoms (PCS) were examined in a prospective, longitudinal study of 196 8 to 15 year old children with mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Parents and children completed a 50-item questionnaire within 2 weeks of injury and again at 3 months after injury, rating the frequency of PCS on a 4-point scale. Common factor analysis with target rotation was used to rotate the ratings to four hypothesized dimensions, representing cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral symptoms. The rotated factor matrix for baseline parent ratings was consistent with the target matrix. The rotated matrix for baseline child ratings was consistent with the target matrix for cognitive and somatic symptoms but not for emotional and behavioral symptoms. The rotated matrices for ratings obtained 3 months after injury were largely consistent with the target matrix derived from analyses of baseline ratings, except that parent ratings of behavioral symptoms did not cluster as before. Parent and child ratings of PCS following mild TBI yield consistent factors reflecting cognitive and somatic symptom dimensions, but dimensions of emotional and behavioral symptoms are less robust across time and raters. (JINS, 2009. 15, 19-30.)