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Examining the Prospective Relationship between Family Affective Responsiveness and Theory of Mind in Chronic Paediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2016

Nicholas P. Ryan ,
Kim Mihaljevic ,
Miriam H. Beauchamp ,
Cathy Catroppa ,
Louise Crossley ,
Stephen Hearps ,
Timothy Silk ,
Celia Godfrey ,
Keith Owen Yeates  and
Vicki A. Anderson
Nicholas P. Ryan*
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Kim Mihaljevic
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Miriam H. Beauchamp
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada Resarch Centre, Ste-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Canada
Cathy Catroppa
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Louise Crossley
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Stephen Hearps
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Timothy Silk
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Celia Godfrey
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Keith Owen Yeates
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Vicki A. Anderson
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Address correspondence: Nicholas Ryan, BA (Hons.), Child Neuropsychology, c/o Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Flemington Road, Parkville, 3052, Australia. Phone: +61 437 12 4427. E-mail: nicholas.ryan@mcri.edu.au
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Abstract

Childhood and adolescence coincide with rapid structural and functional maturation of brain networks implicated in Theory of Mind (ToM); however, the impact of paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the development of these higher order skills is not well understood. ToM can be partitioned into conative ToM, defined as the ability to understand how indirect speech acts involving irony and empathy are used to influence the mental or affective state of the listener; and affective ToM, concerned with understanding that facial expressions are often used for social purposes to convey emotions that we want people to think we feel. In a sample of 84 children with mild-severe TBI and 40 typically developing controls, this study examined the effect of paediatric TBI on affective and conative ToM; and evaluated the respective contributions of injury-related factors (injury severity/lesion location) and non-injury-related environmental variables (socio-economic status (SES)/family functioning) to long-term ToM outcomes. Results showed that the poorest ToM outcomes were documented in association with mild-complicated and moderate TBI, rather than severe TBI. Lesion location and SES did not significantly contribute to conative or affective ToM. Post-injury family affective responsiveness was the strongest and most significant predictor of conative ToM. Results suggest that clinicians should exercise caution when prognosticating based on early clinical indicators, and that group and individual-level outcome prediction should incorporate assessment of a range of injury- and non-injury-related factors. Moreover, the affective quality of post-injury family interactions represents a potentially modifiable risk factor, and might be a useful target for family-centred interventions designed to optimise social cognitive outcomes after paediatric TBI.

Keywords

childbrain injuriestheory of mindsocial cognitionfamily environment

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Type
Articles
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 18 , Special Issue 1: Disorders of Social Cognition; Advances in Theory, Assessment and Treatment , March 2017 , pp. 88 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2016 

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