Primary objectives: To assess parental stress following paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), and examine the relationship between self-reported problems, parental stress and general health. Research design: Parents of 97 children admitted with a TBI (49 mild, 19 moderate, 29 severe) to North Staffordshire National Health Service Trust, and parents of 31 uninjured children were interviewed and assessed. Methods and procedures: Structured interviews were carried out with families, and parents assessed on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI/SF) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) at recruitment, and repeated 12 months later. Main outcomes and results: Forty parents (41.2%) of children with TBI exhibited clinically significant stress. Regardless of injury severity, parents of injured children suffered greater stress than control parents as measured by the PSI/SF (p = 0.001). There was a highly significant relationship between number of problems reported and level of parental stress (p = 0.001). Financial burden was related to severity of TBI. At follow-up, one third of parents of children with severe TBI scored ≥ 18 on the GHQ-12, signifying poor psychological health. Conclusions: The parents of a child with serious TBI should be screened for abnormal levels of stress. Parental stress and family burden may be alleviated by improved information, follow-up and support.
CITATION STYLE
C.A., H., A.B., W., A.R., M., & J., L. (2003). Parental stress and burden following traumatic brain injury amongst children and adolescents. Brain Injury, 17(1), 1–23. Retrieved from http://www.embase.com/search/results?subaction=viewrecord&from=export&id=L36118868 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0269905021000010096
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