Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Murine Model of Controlled Cortical Impact for the Induction of Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 16, 2019
Predictors of High School and College Graduation After Sustaining a Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
Brittany Wright1, Umesh M Venkatesan, Shanti M Pinto
1Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (Drs Wright, Pinto, Wilmoth, and Juengst) and Psychiatry (Dr Wilmoth), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania (Dr Venkatesan); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Carolinas Rehabilitation, Charlotte, North Carolina (Dr Pinto); Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond (Dr Gary); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation, Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr O'Neil-Pirozzi); Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr O'Neil-Pirozzi); Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, New York (Dr Kajankova); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Edison, New Jersey (Dr Kakkanatt); Departments of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Dr Dreer); and TIRR Memorial Hermann, Brain Injury Research Center, Houston, Texas (Dr Juengst).
Objective:
To identify early predictors of US high school and college graduation after moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Setting:
Inpatient rehabilitation and community.
Participants:
TBI Model Systems participants, aged 16 to 24 years, enrolled as high school or college students at time of injury.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Main Measures:
Successful graduation was defined as having a diploma (high school) or an associate/bachelor's degree (college) at 1-, 2-, or 5-year follow-up. Predictors were sex, race/ethnicity, urbanicity, preinjury substance abuse, primary rehabilitation payer, and functional independence at inpatient rehabilitation discharge.
Method:
We descriptively characterized differences between those who did and did not graduate high school and college within the first 5 years postinjury and identified early predictors of successful high school and college graduation using 2 binomial logistic regressions.
Results:
Of those with known graduation status, 81.2% of high school and 41.8% of college students successfully graduated. Graduates in both groups were more often White than Black and had more functional independence at discharge. Among high school students, preinjury substance abuse was also a risk factor for not graduating, as was identifying as Hispanic or "other" race.
Conclusions:
Sociodemographic factors and disability influence graduation outcomes, requiring structural, institutional, and personal interventions for success.
More Related Videos
09:49Assessing Changes in Synaptic Plasticity Using an Awake Closed-Head Injury Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 20, 2023
08:36Development of an Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Model Modified by Weight-Drop Method and Evidenced by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: April 11, 2025