Race as a moderator of parent and family outcomes following pediatric traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To use data from a prospective, longitudinal study to determine whether race moderates parent and family outcomes during the first year following pediatric traumatic brain injuries (TBI).


METHODS
Participants included 73 white and 18 black children with moderate to severe TBI and their families, and 32 white and 23 black children with orthopedic injuries only (OI) and their families. Assessments of parent and family functioning occurred shortly after injury (baseline) and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups.


RESULTS
Race was a significant moderator of group differences in parental psychological distress and perceived family burden, by and large independent of socioeconomic status. The negative consequences of TBI were relatively less pronounced for parents of black children than for parents of white children at baseline, but became more pronounced at the two follow-ups. Black and white parents differed in preferred coping strategies, which may partially account for their different reactions to their children's injuries.


CONCLUSIONS
The sociocultural factors associated with race may moderate the effects of pediatric TBI and OI on parents and families.
Yeates
Keith Owen
KO
Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University and Columbus Children's Hospital, Ohio 43205, USA. yeates.1@osu.edu
Taylor
H Gerry
HG
Woodrome
Stacey E
SE
Wade
Shari L
SL
Stancin
Terry
T
Drotar
Dennis
D
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000208:ethnology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005192:Family Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009820:Ohio; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome