Mental health functioning of parents or family caregivers of children with acute brain injury (ABI) mediates behavioral and functional outcomes of the child and may be an important clinical target to optimize child outcomes.

This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing parent training programs with usual care, or active comparator, and assessing psychological outcomes (depression, anxiety, stress) in parents of children with ABI.

In this study including four RCTs involving 318 parents of children with ABI, parent training compared with usual care or active comparator was associated with significant short-term reductions in stress, depression, and anxiety among parents of children with ABI.

Future clinical trials of parent training programs are needed as there may be some short-term beneficial effects.