Relational Patterns Between Caregivers With PTSD and Their Nonexposed Children

Abstract

The question as to whether or not children can be affected by the traumatization of their parents has been the topic of a long-standing debate. This article provides a critical review of 72 research studies on traumatized parents with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the parent-child interaction, and the impact on their nonexposed child (0-18 years). The evidence suggests that traumatization can cause parenting limitations, and these limitations can disrupt the development of the young child. From the studies reviewed several patterns emerged: Relational patterns of traumatized parents who are observed to be emotionally less available and who perceive their children more negatively than parents without symptoms of PTSD; relational patterns of children who at a young age are easily deregulated or distressed and at an older age are reported to face more difficulties in their psychosocial development than children of parents without symptoms of PTSD; and relational patterns that show remarkable similarities to relational patterns between depressed or anxious parents and their children. Mechanisms such as mentalization, attachment, physiological factors, and the cycle of abuse offer a valuable perspective to further our understanding of the relational patterns. This article builds on previous work by discussing the emerged patterns between traumatized parents and their nonexposed children from a relational and transactional perspective.

Maternal PTSD and Children's Adjustment: Parenting Stress and Emotional Availability as Proposed Mediators

“…Consistent with our findings, van Ee et al (2012) did not find evidence of mediation of emotional availability on the effect of maternal trauma on CBCL scores. Also of note, the review by van Ee et al (2015), which included studies with children between the ages of 0 and 18, and reported increased dysregulated aggression and hostility, less sensitivity, and more intrusiveness in mothers with PTSD, was focused solely on studies of nonexposed children. In contrast, 69% of the children in the current sample were exposed to trauma.…”

“…There has been a surge of research investigating parenting and relational functioning difficulties for individuals with PTSD in the past 10 years. van Ee, Kleber, and Jongmans (2015) recently reviewed 38 studies examining relational patterns and parenting in caregivers with PTSD and found a consistent association between parental PTSD symptoms and problematic parenting. Specifically, parents with PTSD symptoms were more avoidant, overprotective, intrusive, hostile, and controlling and less sensitive and responsive with their children.…”

Risk of childhood psychiatric disorders in children of refugee parents with post-traumatic stress disorder: a nationwide, register-based, cohort study

“…5,9,10 Substantial evidence sup ports an association between parental PTSD and offspring mental health issues, investigated mainly among children of war veterans and holocaust survivors. 11,12 The diverse explana tions for this association include genetics, epigenetics, and exposure to parents' psychologi cal distress, as well as growing up in a potentially dysfunc tional environment with social challenges secondary to parental PTSD. 13,14 Parents with PTSD have functional impairment as part of their diagnosis, which might lead to engagement in negative behaviours and maladaptive parenting.…”

Reflective Functioning of Refugee Mothers with Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

“…A total symptom severity score (range: 0-80) can be obtained by summing the scores for each of the 20 items score on a Likert scale of 0-4. DSM-5 symptom cluster severity scores can be obtained by summing the scores for the items within a given cluster, i.e., cluster B (items 1-5), cluster C (items 6-7), cluster D (items [8][9][10][11][12][13][14], and cluster E (items [15][16][17][18][19][20]. A provisional PTSD diagnosis can be made by treating each item rated as 2 = "moderately" or higher as an endorsed symptom, and then following the DSM-5 diagnostic rule which requires at least 1 B item, 1 C item, 2 D items, and 2 E items.…”

“…While seeking asylum, refugees are continually exposed to daily stressors (e.g., the asylum procedure, housing, financial strains), which may negatively impact the level of parenting sensitivity [11,12]. Intrusive and avoidant trauma-related symptoms are thought to constitute a continuing state of fear [13] and increased stress levels, resulting in a greater production of cortisol that can have lasting epigenetic effects on the unborn child [14,15]. Once the child is born, experiences of trauma can impact the ability of the mother to bond with an infant [4].…”