Conversion of Social Capital in the Rehabilitation Process of Adolescents after an Acquired Brain Injury

This chapter presents a Danish study that explores how forms of social capital are invested and converted by the relatives of young people with a severe acquired brain injury during the process of rehabilitation. The empirical data is based on direct observations of discharge meetings and on focus group interviews and questionnaires with the families six months after hospital discharge. The analysis is theoretically based on Portes’ theoretical trichotomy considering social capital. We found that families with a ‘strong closed family structure’ were the most successful in transforming their resources during the rehabilitation process compared to a ‘small and weak family structure’ together with a ‘split family structure’ being the least beneficial.