Predicting posttraumatic stress symptoms in children following Hurricane Katrina: A prospective analysis of the effect of parental distress and parenting practices

Abstract

Research exhibits a robust relation between child hurricane exposure, parent distress, and child posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study explored parenting practices that could further explicate this association. Participants were 381 mothers and their children exposed to Hurricane Katrina. It was hypothesized that 3–7 months (T1) and 14–17 months (T2) post-Katrina: (a) hurricane exposure would predict child PTSD symptoms after controlling for history of violence exposure and (b) hurricane exposure would predict parent distress and negative parenting practices, which, in turn, would predict increased child PTSD symptoms. Hypotheses were partially supported. Hurricane exposure directly predicted child PTSD at T1 and indirectly at T2. Additionally, several significant paths emerged from hurricane exposure to parent distress and parenting practices, which were predictive of child PTSD.

Findings of an Early Intervention to Address Children’s Traumatic Stress Implemented in the Child Advocacy Center Setting Following Sexual Abuse

“…This finding is contrary to other research which has found that caregiver stress at baseline is predictive of child symptom levels at outcome (Duzinski et al 2012;Kelley et al 2010). It is possible that some of the unique ingredients of the CFTSI model interrupt the process by which caregiver's stress reactions might typically mediate a child's traumatic stress symptoms and thus the trajectory of the child's posttraumatic recovery.…”

The relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms among youth exposed to a natural disaster

“…Furthermore, it is possible that higher social support at Wave 4 could be related to parents’ and peers’ recovery post-disaster. The parents also experienced post-disaster-related distress, which may have impacted children’s recovery (Cobham, McDermott, Haslam, & Sanders, 2016; Kelley et al, 2010; Self-Brown, Lai, Harbin, & Kelley, 2014; Spell et al, 2008). It is possible that during the first two-years post-disaster, parents and peers are recovering themselves, thus decreasing the availability of social support for others.…”

“…Hurricane Katrina caused an estimated 1500 deaths and US$108 billion damage (Knabb et al, 2005). Participants in the present study were part of a larger multi-wave, longitudinal study investigating the psychological impact of Hurricane Katrina on mothers and their children (Kelley et al, 2010; Lai et al, 2015a, 2015b; Lai, Auslander, Fitzpatrick, & Podkowirow, 2014; Self-Brown, Lai, Thompson, McGill, & Kelley, 2013). …”

Parental Experiences of Supporting Children with Clinically Significant Post-Traumatic Distress: a Qualitative Study of Families Accessing Psychological Services

“…Moreover, having a child experience a life-threatening event can have direct psychological consequences for the parent, even when they themselves were not directly exposed to the trauma, and parental posttraumatic distress is greater in cases where the child is more seriously impacted (Hiller et al 2016). Parental distress and PTSD symptoms have been found to be associated with poorer child adjustment following trauma exposure (Alisic et al 2011;De Vries et al 1999;Kelley et al 2010;Nugent et al 2007). Parental post-trauma distress stemming from child trauma exposure may cause parents to be less available to their child, lead to the promotion of maladaptive coping strategies, or cause parental difficulties in discussing the event which may obstruct child recovery (Nugent et al 2007;Schwartz et al 1994) The limited available evidence suggests that only a small minority of children with PTSD access treatment (De Vries et al 1999), and parents are likely to be an important determinant of this.…”