Relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms, caregiving response, and parent mental health in youth exposed to single incident trauma

Abstract

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Highlights  The results of this study indicate that the stress experienced by parents in the aftermath of a traumatic event that affected their child impacts upon parenting factors that are associated with child psychopathology.  Expressed emotion and family accommodation are associated with posttraumatic stress reactions in young people in the month following a traumatic event, and child stress in response to emotional overinvolvement mediates this effect.  Parental posttraumatic stress symptoms and anxiety were associated with emotional overinvolvement and accommodating behaviours.  The measurement of expressed emotion was comprehensive and allowed for analysis of the specific components from multiple perspectives.  The inclusion of a measure of family accommodation provides new data on how families may respond to a child"s distress following a difficult and injurious life event.  Understanding the child in the context of their family environment and relationships offers an important framework for making sense of and facilitating adaptive adjustment following a traumatic event.  Specific skills training for parents may be of benefit for a youth population at risk of developing persistent traumatic stress reactions, and including parents in interventions offered to young people may improve their effectiveness.

Distress tolerance, family cohesion and adaptability, and posttraumatic stress symptoms among combat veterans and their parents

“…Moreover, in a review of the literature among parent-child dyads with shared nonmedical traumatic event exposure such as natural disasters, Leen-Feldner et al (2013) found significant associations between parental and offspring PTSS among two thirds of the studies. However, it should be noted that other studies, such as exposure to various traumatic events 1 month after attending an emergency care department, did not find significant associations between parents' PTSS and adolescents' PTSS (e.g., Goddard et al, 2019). However, scientific exploration of possible negative outcomes following indirect exposure to adult offspring's combat trauma and PTSS among parents of veterans, as well as the psychological and familial mechanisms that may contribute to it, is significantly lacking.…”