Parenting Practices as Potential Mechanisms for Child adjustment Following Mass Trauma

Abstract

Trauma research has identified a link between parental adjustment and children's functioning and the sometimes ensuing intergenerational impact of traumatic events. The effects of traumatic events on children have been demonstrated to be mediated through their impact on children's parents. However, until now, little consideration has been given to the separate and more proximal mechanism of parenting practices as potential mediators between children's adjustment and traumatic events. To shed some light in this arena, we review literature on trauma, adversity, and resilience, and discuss how parenting practices may mediate trauma and adverse environmental contexts. Using a social interaction learning perspective (Forgatch & Knutson, 2002; Patterson, 2005), we propose a prevention research framework to examine the role that parenting practices may play in influencing children's adjustment in the wake of trauma exposure. The article concludes by providing a specific model and role for evidence-based parenting interventions for children exposed to mass trauma.

The Effect of Retrospectively Perceived Parental Bonding on Resilience in Adulthood

“…Various studies indicate that parenting practices mediate children's vulnerability to trauma exposure and post-traumatic symptoms (review by Gewirtz, Forgatch, & Wieling, 2008), positive parenting predicts good outcomes across competence domains, even in the context of severe, chronic adversity (Masten, 2001;Masten et al, 1999). A longitudinal study by Masten et al (1999) showed the fundamental importance of parenting for children's and youths' adaptation in comparison to other risk and protective factors.…”

How Legacies of Genocide Are Transmitted in the Family Environment: A Qualitative Study of Two Generations in Rwanda

“…The model has originally been developed in contexts of family violence and has proven to be valuable for understanding continuity in offending. Since recently, the cycle of violence theory is receiving increasing attention in conflict-affected contexts [19][20][21][22][23][24][26][27][28][29], perhaps because rates of relapse into conflict are worrying [1]. Overall, insight into the mechanisms fostering intergenerational continuity is still limited, however.…”

“…The mechanisms responsible for intergenerational continuity in violence, however, are still poorly understood in this field [25]. Various studies have revealed that caregivers and parenting matter, both as risk and protective factors [26][27][28][29]. Others have focused more on relations between memory and violence, for instance [30].…”

Associations between mental health symptoms in Palestinian captives' wives and in their children

“…Maternal wellbeing seems to have a greater impact on younger children who are more attached to their parents [52,53], compared to adolescent children. Adolescents are more independent, with a growing ability to adjust by themselves or to get support from their peers [8,[54][55][56][57]. Besides, in Palestinian culture, mostly the oldest child takes the role of the father when he is absent.…”