Fatigue, Executive Functioning, and Quality of Life: Exploring Relationships in Children With Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Purpose: The overall purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between fatigue, executive functioning, and quality of life for children with moderate–severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) between 8 and 17 years old. Method: Fifteen parents of children with moderate–severe TBI ( M = 10.06 years old) completed an online survey. Data from the following measures were included in this study's analyses: demographic and injury questions, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition (BRIEF-2), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scale (PedsQL GCS)–parent report, and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (PedsQL MFS)–parent report. Results: In a multiple regression, fatigue was found to be a significant predictor of quality of life for children with TBI, but executive functioning was not a significant predictor. When examining subdomains of functioning, worse sleep/rest fatigue and emotional executive functioning were most consistently associated with worse physical and psychosocial quality of life. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that fatigue could be an important contributing factor to reduced quality of life for children with moderate–severe TBI. Medical and educational professionals, including speech-language pathologists, should assess children with TBI for the presence and impact of fatigue. Further research is needed to understand how different subdomains of fatigue might interact with executive functioning to impact quality of life.