Exploring identity adjustment following adolescent acquired brain injury from the perspectives of adolescents and their parents

Glennon, Ciara (2019) Exploring identity adjustment following adolescent acquired brain injury from the perspectives of adolescents and their parents. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Aim: This thesis explored a systemic understanding of psychosocial outcomes in young people with brain injury (BI) by examining psychosocial adjustment within a family context.

Design: First, a systematic review (SR) examined and appraised the evidence base for psychosocial outcomes from parent-involved interventions post child and adolescent traumatic brain injury (TBI). Psychosocial outcomes pertaining to the young person (YP), the parent, and the dyad/family were synthesised. Secondly, an empirical paper (EP) was presented. Six semi structured interviews were conducted with adolescents with BI and six synchronous interviews with their mothers. Grounded theory methodology was applied to elucidate the process of identity adjustment post adolescent TBI within this dyadic context.

Findings: The potential for parent-involved interventions to impact dyadic outcomes post injury was demonstrated in the SR, but significant issues regarding bias were found. Suggestions were made on ways to better consider research with dyadic populations to more robustly research and capture outcomes. In the EP, themes of continuity and change were described for the dyad. The accounts given by young people with BI focused mainly on their own social peer relationships, as the context for their experience of identity adjustment. This was in the context of mothers describing extensive involvement in many other aspects of their child’s life, as they engaged in dilemmas over how to support their child’s adjustment. The child's identity adjustment was understood as a predominantly socially determined process, while relational processes with mum were often a lived yet unspoken narrative.

Conclusion: The two papers taken in tandem illustrated the role of the parent in effecting adolescent adjustment in terms of a range of psychosocial outcomes (SR) and in terms of identity adjustment (EP) post BI. Highlighted is the need for parents to be adequately supported, given their potential to support YP adjustment. A second issue highlighted is the risk of others failing to see, attend to or understand the YPs experiences post BI.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	27 Jul 2020 09:00
Last Modified:	04 Mar 2021 15:42
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/76283
DOI:

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