Objective: To examine the impact of secondary attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (SADHD) on long-term global and executive functioning in adolescents after traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Setting: Three tertiary cared children's hospitals and 1 general hospital.
Participants: One hundred twenty children (TBI: n = 54; orthopedic injury: n = 66) without preinjury ADHD evaluated approximately 6.8 years postinjury.
Design: Cross-sectional data analysis from a prospective, longitudinal study.
Main measures: Outcomes included functional impairment (Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale) and executive functioning (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function [BRIEF]).
Results: SADHD moderated the association of injury type with the BRIEF-Behavioral Regulation Index (F1,113 = 4.42, P = .04) and the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (F1,112 = 8.95, P = .003). TBI was only associated with poorer outcomes in the context of SADHD. SADHD was also associated with poorer outcomes on the BRIEF-Global Executive Composite (F1,113 = 52.92, P < .0001) and BRIEF-Metacognitive Index scores (F1,113 = 48.64, P < .0001) across groups. Adolescents with TBI had greater BRIEF-Global Executive Composite scores than those with orthopedic injury (F1,113 = 5.00, P = .03).
Conclusions: Although SADHD was associated with poorer functioning across groups, its adverse effects on behavioral regulation and overall functioning were amplified following TBI. TBI + SADHD may confer an elevated risk for significant impairments in early adolescence.