Brief Report: The Impact of Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Child Gender on Risk for Persistent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Child Trauma Victims.
POST-traumatic stress disorder; STRESS (Psychology); CHILDREN; NEUROSES; TRAUMATIC neuroses
Objective To longitudinally examine the impact of maternal posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSS) on child adjustment following a child's traumatic injury, focusing on child gender differences. Methods Forty-one child traumatic injury victims aged 8-18 years and their biological mothers were interviewed over two follow-ups (6 weeks and 7 months). Children were administered the Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale for Children and Adolescents (CAPS-CA), whereas mothers completed the CAPS. Results Six weeks post trauma, maternal PTSS were significantly related to PTSS in boys but not in girls. However, at 7 months, maternal PTSS were strongly related to child PTSS in both boys and girls. Significant 6-week maternal distress-child gender interactions suggested that maternal PTSS, especially avoidance, predicted greater 7-month PTSS but that this was primarily because of a significant relationship in females. Conclusions Maternal distress was found to negatively impact subsequent child adjustment, particularly in females. These results underscore the importance of considering family-centered interventions for child PTSD, especially in girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Ostrowski Sarah A; Christopher Norman C; Delahanty Douglas L
Journal of Pediatric Psychology
2007
2007-04
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl003" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1093/jpepsy/jsl003</a>
Parental Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms as a Moderator of Child's Acute Biological Response and Subsequent Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Pediatric Injury Patients.
POST-traumatic stress disorder; STRESS (Psychology); CHILDREN; NEUROSES; PARENTS
Objective To examine how parental responses following pediatric injury may influence their child's posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Methods Heart rate (HR) from 82 pediatric injury patients was measured during emergency medical services (EMSs) transport and following hospital admission. Twelve-hour urinary cortisol levels were assessed upon admission. Child PTSS and parental PTSS and general distress were assessed 6 weeks and 6 months after trauma. Results Six-week parental PTSS predicted 6-month child PTSS even after controlling for demographics and general parent distress (ΔR² = .08, p = .03). Parental PTSS moderated the relationship between (a) child cortisol levels and 6-month child PTSS (ΔR² = .08, p = .03) and between (b) hospital HR and 6-month child PTSS (ΔR² = .09, p = .03). Conclusion The present findings suggest that parental response to trauma may interact with child acute physiological responses to predict persistent child PTSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Nugent Nicole R; Ostrowski Sarah; Christopher Norman C; Delahanty Douglas L
Journal of Pediatric Psychology
2007
2007-04
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl005" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1093/jpepsy/jsl005</a>