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Published on: August 16, 2019
Static and Dynamic Factors Promoting Resilience following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Brief Review
Jessica N Holland1, Adam T Schmidt1
1Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Sam Houston State University, Campus Box 2447, Huntsville, TX 77341, USA.
Insights
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) recovery can be improved by modifiable factors like nutrition and social support. Further research is needed to fully understand these resilience factors in children and adults.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in US children and young adults.
- Understanding factors that promote recovery is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review contemporary literature on factors influencing resilience following TBI in pediatric and adult populations.
- To categorize these factors into static (unmodifiable) and dynamic (modifiable) categories.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of human and animal studies on TBI outcomes.
- Categorization of influencing factors into static (age, sex, etc.) and dynamic (socioeconomic status, social support, etc.) groups.
Main Results:
- Both static and dynamic factors show potential to improve various functional domains post-TBI (cognition, emotion, behavior, etc.).
- Modifiable factors like socioeconomic status, social support, nutrition, and exercise appear particularly promising for enhancing resilience.
- Evidence for many factors is limited by scope, population, preclinical focus, or insufficient outcome evaluation.
Conclusions:
- Several factors, particularly modifiable ones, show promise in enhancing TBI recovery.
- Continued, rigorous research is vital to validate these findings and develop effective interventions for TBI resilience in all age groups.
Abstract:
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the greatest contributing cause of death and disability among children and young adults in the United States. The current paper briefly summarizes contemporary literature on factors that can improve outcomes (i.e., promote resilience) for children and adults following TBI. For the purpose of this paper, the authors divided these factors into static or unmodifiable factors (i.e., age, sex, intellectual abilities/education, and preinjury psychiatric history) and dynamic or modifiable factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, family functioning/social support, nutrition, and exercise). Drawing on human and animal studies, the research reviewed indicated that these various factors can improve outcomes in multiple domains of functioning (e.g., cognition, emotion regulation, health and wellness, behavior, etc.) following a TBI. However, many of these factors have not been studied across populations, have been limited to preclinical investigations, have been limited in their scope or follow-up, or have not involved a thorough evaluation of outcomes. Thus, although promising, continued research is vital in the area of factors promoting resilience following TBI in children and adults.
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