Talking with Children About Natural Disasters: Maternal Acknowledgment, Child Emotion Talk, and Child Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Abel, Madelaine R.; Hambrick, Erin P.; Vernberg, Eric M.

doi:10.1007/s10566-021-09605-5

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Finally, maternal support was found to be important in the relationship between children’s use of both positive and negative emotional language and child tornado-related post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS). Maternal support included asking their children questions, making follow-up statements, repeating back content by paraphrasing, and providing possible solutions to problems [ 36 ]. Risk factors: In this section, we present risk factors that were found to contribute to adverse mental health after a tornado.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Impacts of Tornadoes: A Systematic Review

Lee

First

2022

IJERPH

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Tornadoes are one of the most prevalent natural hazards in the United States, yet they have been underrepresented in the disaster mental health comprehensive literature. In the current study, we systematically reviewed available scientific evidence within published research journals on tornadoes and mental health from 1994 to 2021. The electronic search strategy identified 384 potentially relevant articles. Of the 384 articles, 29 articles met the inclusion criteria, representing 27,534 participants. Four broad areas were identified: (i) Mental health impacts of tornadoes; (ii) Risk factors; (iii) Protective factors; and (iv) Mental health interventions. Overall, results showed adverse mental health symptoms (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety) in both adult and pediatric populations. A number of risk factors were found to contribute to negative mental health, including demographics, tornado exposure, post-tornado stressors, and prior exposure to trauma. Protective factors found to contribute to positive outcomes included having access to physical, social, and psychological resources. Together, these findings can serve as an important resource for future mental health services in communities experiencing tornadoes.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Impacts of Tornadoes: A Systematic Review

Lee

First

2022

IJERPH

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“…Another factor that may play a role in the perceived helpfulness in parent–child PTE communication, may be parental responsiveness toward the experience of the child in such a conversation. Abel et al (2021) found that PTSD symptoms were higher in children when their mother did not acknowledge their child’s emotion during a PTE conversation. Regardless of whether children talked in a positive or negative way about the event, the acknowledgment of those emotions from their mother is key for their adjustment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…First, it was explored whether parents and children communicated about the PTE at all. In 16 of the 26 included studies, a very large majority (> 80%) or the entire sample indicated that they had communicated about PTEs ( Abel et al, 2021 ; Ackil et al, 2003 ; Alexander et al, 2004 ; Alisic et al, 2012 , 2017 ; Canale et al, 2022 ; Cohodes et al, 2021 ; Dalgaard et al, 2016 ; Hafstad et al, 2012 ; Hendrickson et al, 2020 ; Lindgaard et al, 2009 ; McGuire et al, 2019 ; Murphy et al, 2016 ; Murphy et al, 2021 ; Williamson et al, 2016 , 2019 ). In four of the 26 studies, there were mixed results with about half of the parents or children indicating no communication about the PTE, while the other half did report previous PTE communication ( Dalgaard et al, 2019 ; Field et al, 2014 ; Gil-Rivas et al, 2007 ; Williamson et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet another study found that the mention of positive and negative emotions was correlated. In a conversation about the PTE, increased mentioning of positive emotions was associated with increased mentioning of negative emotions ( Abel et al, 2021 ). Dalgaard et al (2019) also found both positive (future prospects) and negative (violent details) communication between parents and children.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, parental sensitivity and responsiveness in PTE conversations with children were predictive of the impact of communication. Indeed, the results suggested that children showed worse adjustment when parental sensitivity and responsiveness were low ( Murphy et al, 2016 ; Hendrickson et al, 2020 ; Abel et al, 2021 ). Hence, results suggest that it is especially important for the parent to be sensitive toward their child’s thoughts and emotions during conversations about the PTE.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parent–Child Communication About Potentially Traumatic Events: A Systematic Review

Sloover,

Stoltz,

van Ee

2023

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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Social support plays an important role in children’s well-being after experiencing a potentially traumatic event (PTE). One such source of support is the parent–child relationship, specifically by discussing the event. However, current literature provides no consensus on whether parents and children communicate about PTEs, in what way they might communicate and how this affects the child. Hence the goal of the current study is threefold, to explore: (a) whether parents and children communicate about PTEs, (b) what this communication looks like, and (c) how this affects children’s well-being. These questions are answered by means of a systematic literature review. Articles were eligible for inclusion if it was an empirical study on communication between parents and children about a PTE that the child (under 18 years) had experienced. Initial searches in electronic databases provided 31,233 articles, of which 26 were deemed eligible for inclusion. Results show that most parents and children have discussed PTEs, but that this may depend on cultural background. What the parent–child communication looks like depends on various factors such as, age of the child, tone, and child’s initiation of discussion. Parental post-traumatic stress symptoms seem to negatively impact communication. The results of the impact of communication are less clear-cut, but it seems to have a predominantly positive effect on the child’s well-being, depending on parental sensitivity. Clinicians should be watchful for parental symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and can focus on promoting parental sensitivity and responsiveness when discussing PTEs with their child or on creating a joint narrative within families.

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