Changes in Family Life Perceived by Mothers of Young Adult TBI Survivors

Abstract

Little is known about changes in family life perceived by mothers of young adult survivors of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A phenomenological method was used to describe the changes that seven mothers of TBI survivors perceived in family life 6 months or more after the TBI. The five basic changes in family life reported by mothers were: getting attention from each other for different reasons now, getting along with each other since the injury, facing new financial hurdles, going our separate ways down this new path, and splitting the family apart against our will. Compared to literature on stress and coping, the findings offered a unique perspective on changes in family life. Nurses can use the findings to initiate therapeutic conversations with mothers about changes in family life after a TBI.