Experience of loss in adolescents with a parent with a traumatic brain injury

The experiences of children and adolescents who have a parent with an acquired brain injury is a relatively under-researched area. There is mixed evidence about whether or not these young people display emotional and behavioural difficulties as a result of this trauma. Research has suggested that adolescents experience multiple ‘losses’ during this time. The most prominent of these is thought to be ‘ambiguous loss’, where the parent is physically present but psychologically absent. This is considered to be a particularly difficult process as it is an ongoing loss that the person has to cope with on a daily basis. There have been very few attempts to facilitate these adolescents to verbalise their experiences. The following study utilised Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the experiences of loss in adolescents who have a parent with an acquired brain injury and the sense they make of these experiences. Five female adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old participated in face-to-face interviews. The participants reported a number of losses including loss of child role, loss of parent and loss of parental role. Additionally they experienced distress, which included feelings of hopelessness, isolation, annoyance and helplessness. The dominant coping strategy utilised was avoidance. A number of positive consequences of the injury were described such as feeling closer to other family members and feeling more grown up. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed.