Abstract
"Objective: To examine whether, following a parental brain injury, child post-traumatic stress symptoms, caregiver grief and amount of time the parent spent in hospital predicts child psychological adjustment.
Method: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Parent Report of Post- Traumatic Symptoms and Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory- ABI revised were completed online by 48 adult participants. Questionnaires related to the child’s experience were completed from a parent-reported perspective. Details regarding the parental brain injury were also recorded. A cross-sectional study design was implemented.
Results: Child psychological adjustment was significantly predicted by their own post-traumatic stress symptoms. Nor the non-injured parent’s grief, or the time their parent spent in hospital following a brain injury, predicted the child’s psychological adjustment. Child post-traumatic stress symptoms were significantly positively correlated with their non-injured parent’s grief.
Conclusions: Higher child post-traumatic stress symptoms are associated with worsened child psychological adjustment, following a parental brain injury. Higher levels of grief in the non-injured parent are associated with higher levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms in the child. This has implications for clinical practice, such as the value of screening families for experiences of grief and trauma, which may identify children at higher risk of developing psychological difficulties. Suggestions for future research are discussed."