Citation

Afzal N, Ye S, Page AC, Trickey D, Lyttle MD, Hiller RM, Halligan SL. Eur. J. Psychotraumatol. 2023; 14(1): e2156053.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, The Author(s), Publisher Co-action Publishing)

DOI

10.1080/20008066.2022.2156053

PMID

37052099

PMCID

PMC9788707

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Parents are a key source of support for children exposed to single-incident/acute traumas and can thereby play a potentially significant role in children's post-trauma psychological adjustment. However, the evidence base examining parental responses to child trauma and child posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) has yielded mixed findings.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic review examining domains of parental responding in relation to child PTSS outcomes.

METHOD: Studies were included if they (1) assessed children (6-19 years) exposed to a potentially traumatic event, (2) assessed parental responses to a child's trauma, and (3) quantitatively assessed the relationship between parental responses and child PTSS outcomes. A systematic search of three databases (APAPsycNet, PTSDpubs, and Web of Science) yielded 27 manuscripts.

RESULTS: Parental overprotection, trauma communication, avoidance of trauma discussion and of trauma reminders, and distraction were consistently related to child PTSS. There was more limited evidence of a role for trauma-related appraisals, harsh parenting, and positive parenting in influencing child outcomes. Significant limitations to the evidence base were identified, including limited longitudinal evidence, single informant bias and small effect sizes.

CONCLUSION: We conclude that key domains of parental responses could be potential intervention targets, but further research must validate the relationship between these parental responses and child PTSS outcomes.

Language: en

Keywords

Child; Humans; PTSD; parenting; post-traumatic stress; *Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology; 创伤后应激; *Parenting/psychology; child trauma; crianza de los hijos; estrés postraumático; parent–child relationship; Parents/psychology; relación padre-hijo; Trastorno de estrés postraumático; trauma infantil; 亲子关系; 儿童创伤; 教养