Coping styles of parents of children and adolescents with acquired brain injury in the chronic phase

Objective: To investigate the types of coping strategies used by parents of children with acquired brain injury in the chronic phase and the relationship between their coping styles and psychosocial functioning. Design: Cross-sectional study (April-May 2013). Subjects: Parents (n = 42) of 28 children with acquired brain injury (> 6 months post-injury). Methods: Parents completed the Utrecht Coping List, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire 9, Caregiver Strain Index, and Family Assessment Device. Results: The use of coping strategies among fathers did not differ from that among men from the standardization population (t14 = 0.96, p = 0.35 and t14 = 0.61, p = 0.55, respectively). However, mothers used more emotion-focused coping strategies than women in the standardization population (t26 = 3.27, p = 0.00), while there was no difference on the problem-focused coping strategies (t26 = -1.75, p = 0.09). Parents who used emotion-focused coping styles exhibited lower family functioning, higher strain and lower quality of life, while those who used problem-focused coping styles exhibited higher strain. Conclusion: Parents of children with acquired brain injury need proper treatment to improve their psychosocial functioning. In particular, treatments should be developed that aim at changing the parents' maladaptive coping styles into less maladaptive ones. Thus, more attention should be focused on the psychological well-being of parents of children with acquired brain injury in the chronic phase

Efficacy of Time Pressure Management in Stroke Patients With Slowed Information Processing : A Randomized Controlled Trial

Item does not contain fulltextObjective: To examine the effects of a Time Pressure Management (TPM) strategy taught to stroke patients with mental slowness, compared with the effects of care as usual. Design: Randomized controlled trial with outcome assessments conducted at baseline, at the end of treatment (at 5-10wk), and at 3 months. Setting: Eight Dutch rehabilitation centers. Participants: Stroke patients (N=37; mean age +/- SD 51.5 +/- 9.7y) in rehabilitation programs who had a mean Barthel score SD at baseline of 19.6 +/- 1.1. Intervention: Ten hours of treatment teaching patients a TPM strategy to compensate for mental slowness in real-life tasks. Main Outcome Measures: Mental Slowness Observation Test and Mental Slowness Questionnaire. Results: Patients were randomly assigned to the experimental treatment (n=20) and to care as Usual (n=17). After 10 hours of treatment, both groups showed a significant decline in number of complaints on the Mental Slowness Questionnaire. This decline was still present at 3 months. At 3 months, the Mental Slowness Observation Test revealed significantly higher increases in speed of performance of the TPM group in comparison with the care-as-usual group (t=-2.7, P=.01). Conclusions: Although the TPM group and the care-as-usual group both showed fewer complaints after a 3-month follow-up period, only the TPM group showed improved speed of performance on everyday tasks. Use of TPM treatment therefore is recommended when treating stroke patients with mental slowness