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Effects of closed head injury on strategic remembering in children
Abstract
Closed head injured (CHI) children demonstrate long-term memory storage and retrieval deficits. Memory impairment in CHI children may be related to inefficient use of rehearsal and organizational strategies. A strong relationship exists between rehearsal and organizational strategy use and memory performance. When these strategies are applied, the ability to retain and retrieve information is enhanced. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of CHI on the use of rehearsal and organizational strategies. Selected for study were nine CHI children ranging in age from eight to thirteen years (Mean = 11.4 years) with post-onset intervals of seven months to eight years. The CHI children ranged from mild-moderately to severely impaired. Nine normally developing children ranging in age from eight to fourteen years (Mean = 10.9 years) served as controls. CHI children's performance was compared with noninjured controls in order to provide information regarding developmental trends and recovery following trauma. Overt rehearsal free recall and incidental recall tasks were used to obtain data. There were three recall measures (number of free, category/schema items recalled and degree of clustering) and two rehearsal measures (number of unique items and number of different categories/schemas rehearsed). CHI subjects' free recall performance was significantly poorer than controls. Controls recalled more category and schema items than CHI subjects. There were no significant differences between CHI and controls' clustering in recall. CHI subjects did not show increased recall or clustering related to schema-derived items. There were no significant differences in CHI subjects and controls' rehearsal performance. No correlations were shown between recall, rehearsal and age or time post-onset. Recall and clustering differences were found between severe CHI and other subject groups. Qualitative analysis revealed differences between CHI subjects and controls' range of rehearsal strategies used, monitoring and metamemory skills. CHI children demonstrated impaired verbal recall and relatively unimpaired rehearsal or organizational strategy use. Qualitative differences in passive versus active processes may have contributed to poor recall performance. Severely injured subjects, in particular, demonstrated a passive approach to learning. Implications for clinical intervention with respect to development and recovery of strategies were discussed.
Subject Area
Speech therapy
Recommended Citation
Harris, Jessica R, "Effects of closed head injury on strategic remembering in children" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9233067.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9233067