title: Impact of parental acquired brain injury on children: Review of the literature and conceptual model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Data on children's adjustment following parental acquired brain injury (ABI) are disparate and spare, and appear inconclusive. Nonetheless, they suggest that children's well-being is at risk, but often neglected. Indeed, lack of a unifying conceptual model makes it difficult to integrate available evidence, in order to circumscribe relevant factors and understand how these may influence children's outcomes in more or less favourable ways.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present review proposes the coping competence model as a theoretical framework apt to clarify these issues and organize the available evidence. In brief, the model states that impact of parental ABI on children reflects the extent of the challenges children face and their preponderant ways of coping with them, i.e. pro-socially, anti-socially or asocially.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evidence shows that children deal with some common socioaffective as well as achievement challenges. Further, it is consistent with the three main coping modalities supported by the model. Overall, children's outcomes appear variable, but clearly at risk and in need of special attention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review summarizes these outcomes, raises conceptual as well as methodological questions to be addressed in future research and eventually presents relevant issues for support and clinical services.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Clinical Developmental Psychology, University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anna Maria Vitale
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Tiar
authors.forename: Jean E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Dumas
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000523:psychology*; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents
keywords: Adjustment; children; coping competence model; family functioning; parental acquired brain injury