Appendix A
Overview of Outcome Assessments Available for Use with Children and Youth with TBI
Quality of Life
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
CHIP (Child Health & Illness Profile) |
Assess physical & mental health |
11-17 |
Child / youth |
Self- administered |
153 |
30-45 |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
12, 15, 22 |
Can be used to assess change over time |
Utilization questions within the health status scale; requires professional interpretation |
|
CHQ (Child Health Question-naire) |
Assess physical, emotional & social well-being |
5-17 10/12 & older 5 & younger |
Parent Child
Parent |
Self-administered |
28 or 50 87
87 |
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
6, J. Landgraf |
Specifically developed for children/youth; well normed; used in other pediatric populations; allows parallel child & parent reports; telephone interview scripted |
Limited data on sensitivity to change; under 5 version not yet normed; may not be as sensitive as condition-specific instrument; paper-&- pencil version normed but telephone interview not normed |
|
COOP Charts (Dartmouth Primary Care Cooperative Info. Project) |
Assess functioning and health-related quality of life |
8-12
13-18 |
Child
Youth |
Self-administered |
9
14 |
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
12 |
Floor and ceiling effects; relies on sample size for power |
||
PedsQL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) |
Assess health- related quality of life |
8-18 |
Child/ youth Parent |
Child: interview Youth & parent: self-administered |
15 core, 30 disease-specific |
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
25 |
|||
QWB (Quality of Well-Being) |
Assess quality of life |
12 and older |
Youth |
Structured interview |
----- |
15 |
For adults |
Yes |
----- |
3, 8 |
Weighted based on population preferences; adapted from adult measure; low parent/ youth correlation; not designed for a neurological population |
||
Epidemiology
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
NHIS (National Health Interview Survey) |
Assess prevalence of certain health- related conditions in the US |
1988 Child Supp: 0-18 1994 Disability Supp: 0-18 |
Parent
Parent
|
Structured telephone interview Structured telephone interview |
65
-----
|
-----
-----
|
-----
-----
|
-----
-----
|
yes
-----
|
12, 21 |
||
OCHS (Ontario Child Health Survey) |
Assess prevalence of emotional & behavioral disorders |
4-16
12-16 |
Parent
Youth
|
Interview & self-administered |
304
169
|
-----
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
12 |
Behavioral / Cognitive
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
||
*BASC (Behavior Assessment System for Children) |
Measure anxiety, depression, aggression, coping, social relationships |
2.5-18
8-18 |
Parent/ teacher Child/ youth |
Self- administered Self- administered |
130
152 child 186 youth |
10-20
30-45 |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
14 |
Normed; relatively brief |
|||
*BRIEF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) |
Assess executive functioning including self-monitoring, organization-al control, & individual planning |
5-18
2.5-5
11-22 |
Parent & teacher Parent
Youth |
Self-administered Self-administered Self-administered |
86 |
10 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
10 |
5-18 year parent version normed; more specific than some other measures |
2.5-5 year parent and 11-22 year youth versions still being normed; rather long |
||
*CBCL (Child Behavior Checklist) |
Assess children's competencies & behavioral/ emotional problems |
1.5-5
4-18 |
Parent
Parent |
Self-administered Self-administered |
99
118 |
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
1, 20 |
Designed to assess psychopathology; may not be appropriate for brain injured population; quite long; can give inconsistent results |
|||
|
Behavioral / Cognitive continued |
||||||||||||||
*FS-II(R) (Functional Status II(R)) |
Assess behavioral response to illness that interferes with normal social roles |
0-16 |
Parent |
Structured interview |
long: 43 short: 14 |
----- ----- |
Yes |
Yes |
----- ----- |
12, 15, 23 |
Can be used repeatedly to document change |
Designed for lower end of the functional continuum; permission must be obtained from authors |
||
Functional
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
*PEDI (Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory) |
Measure capability & performance of functional activities |
0.5-7.5 |
Parents and/or physicians |
Interview or direct observation |
41 |
45 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
2, 9 S. Haley |
Incorporates more cognitive, behavioral, & safety components than WeeFIM |
Primarily a rehab instrument; limited age range |
*PEDI II (Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, Version II) |
Measure ADLs, social/ behavioral activities & community participation |
0-18 |
Clinical staff Parent |
Self-administered |
44 |
45 |
Planned |
Planned |
Designed for TBI |
S. Haley |
Focuses more on community participation than PEDI; some questions may be useful for TBI surveillance |
Still in development; questionable inter-rater reliability; too detailed for surveillance; focuses on rehab, more severe injuries, people who receive services |
*SIB (Scales of Independent Behavior) |
Assess adaptive & maladaptive behavior |
0-80+ |
Parent |
Structured interview or checklist |
long: 259 short: 40 |
45-60 15-20 |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
11, 18, 19 |
Global index of independence; considers initiation of activity |
|
*VABS (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales) |
Survey activities the child/youth habitually demonstrates in the environment |
0-18 |
Parent |
Semi-structured interview |
297 |
30-60 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
11, 16 |
Short form has global index of independence |
Complicated interview process |
*WeeFIM (Functional Independence Measure for Children) |
Assess functional independence by focusing on dependence |
0.5-7 |
Parent |
Interview or direct observation |
18 |
15-20 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
9, 15, 24 |
Can be used repeatedly to document change |
Difficult to teach to interviewers with no rehab experience; designed for inpt assessment of kids with serious injury; ceiling effect; under |
Educational/Vocational/Recreation
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
*PPSC (Play Performance Scale for Children) |
Assess play performance |
0.5-16 |
Parent or clinician |
Self-administered |
Single scale |
2 |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
13, 15 |
Assessment can be done by non-professionals; easy to administer, analyze & interpret |
Used primarily in oncology studies |
*PSO (Post-Secondary Outcomes) |
Assess educational & vocational status |
post-high school |
Youth & parent |
Structured interview |
----- |
----- |
----- |
----- |
Designed for TBI |
Bonnie Todis |
||
*SFA (School Function Assessment) |
Assess ability to perform functional tasks necessary for the academic & social aspects of education |
K-6th grade |
----- |
Interview / evaluation |
----- |
----- |
----- |
Yes |
----- |
7 |
May have useful elements |
Long |
Family Functioning
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
*FAD (McMaster Family Assessment Device) |
Assess global family functioning |
na |
Parents / family members |
Self-administered |
53 |
15-20 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
9, 27 |
Not designed to measure impact on family; not sensitive to change over time |
|
*FBII (Family Burden of Injury Interview) |
Assess burden of pediatric TBI on families |
na |
Parent |
Interview |
27 |
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
4, 27 |
Sensitive to change over time |
May not be applicable to non-TBI groups; rather long |
*IOF-G (Impact on the Family Scale, Version G) |
Measure impact of pediatric disability on family |
na |
Parent |
Interview |
34 |
----- |
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
15, 27 |
Brief, useful; designed to be more sensitive to change |
Difficult to get; may not be as useful as FBII |
**Depression
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
BDI (Beck Depression Inventory) |
Evaluate depressive symptoms |
Youth |
Youth |
Self-administered |
21 |
5-10 |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
17, 20 |
Measuring depression may not be as important in children/ youth as in adults |
||
CDI (Child Depression Inventory) |
Assess frequency of depressive symptoms |
8-17 |
Child / youth |
Self-administered |
27 |
----- |
----- |
Yes |
----- |
26 |
Measuring depression may not be as important in children/ youth as in adults |
||
CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale) |
Measure current depressive symptoms |
Youth |
Youth |
Self-administered |
20 |
----- |
Yes |
Yes |
----- |
9 |
Measuring depression may not be as important in children/ youth as in adults |
||
**PTSD
Title |
Purpose |
Age Range (yrs) |
Parent or child response |
Administration mode |
Number of items |
Time (min) |
Reliability studies? |
Validity studies? |
Used in child / youth TBI studies? |
Ref. |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
CAPS-CA (Clinician Administered PTSD Scale, Child/ Adolescent version) |
Measure PTSD-related symptoms |
7-18 |
Child/ youth |
Structured interview |
33 |
30-120 |
----- |
----- |
Yes |
5 |
Can assess impact of symptoms on functioning; extremely detailed and thorough |
Requires a longer time period than other assessments; requires administration by a trained professional |
CPTS-RI (Child Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index) |
Measure PTSD-related symptoms |
6-17 |
Child/ youth Parent |
Semi-structured interview |
20 |
20-45 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
5, 28 |
Relatively brief and easy to administer |
Does not inquire about all DSM-IV symptoms; parent version not yet validated |
TESI (Traumatic Events Screening Inventory) |
Assess trauma history |
4-18 |
Child/ youth Parent |
Semi-structured interview Interview or self-administered |
15
19 |
10-30
10-30 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
5 |
Requires administration by a trained professional |


