Traumatic brain injury in adolescents: the relationship between high school exiting status and future productivity.

Objective: Investigate the relationship between high school exiting type and productivity in post-secondary education and employment among students who suffered a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) while in high school.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 225 16-18-year-old students who attended neurorehabilitation after a moderate-to-severe TBI. All injuries occurred while attending high school; all youth attended neurorehabilitation at a TBI Model Systems Hospital. We measured productivity as mean weekly hours in post-secondary education and employment 5 years post-injury. We examined the unique contribution of high school exiting type to long-term productivity with hierarchical linear regressions, controlling for patient demographics, pre-injury factors, and injury/disability severity.

Results: Most participants (82%) graduated high school with a diploma. Graduates reported more weekly productivity hours (23.61) than those who exited with a General Educational Development (GED) (12.85) or non-completers (5.97). All control variables contributed significantly to 5-year productivity and a diploma or GED was uniquely related to productivity.

Conclusions: Graduating high school is attainable for most youth who experience a TBI during high school. Graduating with a diploma or GED was uniquely related to 5-year productivity, providing a clear incentive for collaboration between neurorehabilitation services and schools.