Cobham Vanessa E, McDermott Brett
1 School of Psychology, University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland, Australia .
J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2014 Feb;24(1):18-23. doi: 10.1089/cap.2013.0051. Epub 2014 Feb 4.
Recent research suggests that not only parental psychopathology, but also parenting practices, have a role to play in the development of child posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) following a natural disaster. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between parents' perceptions of their parenting in the aftermath of a natural disaster, and child PTSS.
A cross-sectional design was used to explore the associations among child PTSS, parents' perceptions of altered (more anxious) parenting, and parental disaster-related distress (altered cognitions and behaviors) in 874 elementary school children (ages 8-12 years) and their parents following a severe storm of cyclonic proportions. With parental consent, school-based screening was conducted in impacted communities 3 months after the storm. Children completed a screening questionnaire consisting of the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire (CTSQ; used for identifying children at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), as well as a range of questions assessing disaster exposure and threat perception. Parents completed questions relating to their perceptions of changes in their parenting since the storm, as well as two items relating to their own disaster-related distress.
Independent of other significant associations with child PTSS (such as age, gender, and disaster exposure), a high level of parent-perceived altered parenting appeared to put children at increased risk for PTSS 3 months after the disaster. However, when the sample was stratified for the presence or absence of altered parent cognitions and behaviors following the storm, altered parenting was found to have a unique relationship with child PTSS only when parents reported altered disaster-related cognitions and behaviors.
When parents report disaster-related cognitions and behaviors, their perception of altered parenting practices (becoming more protective, less granting of autonomy, and communicating a sense of current danger) is associated with child PTSS. Although it is not possible to draw conclusions about the direction of these relationships, this study identifies parenting practices that may constitute important targets for intervention.
近期研究表明，不仅父母的精神病理学状况，而且养育方式在自然灾害后儿童创伤后应激症状（PTSS）的发展中也发挥着作用。本研究旨在调查自然灾害后父母对自身养育方式的认知与儿童PTSS之间的关系。
采用横断面设计，探讨874名小学生（8至12岁）及其父母在一场强烈的气旋风暴后，儿童PTSS、父母对养育方式改变（更焦虑）的认知以及父母与灾难相关的痛苦（认知和行为改变）之间的关联。在获得父母同意后，于风暴过后3个月在受灾社区进行基于学校的筛查。儿童完成一份筛查问卷，其中包括儿童创伤筛查问卷（CTSQ；用于识别有创伤后应激障碍[PTSD]风险的儿童），以及一系列评估灾难暴露和威胁感知的问题。父母完成与他们对风暴后养育方式变化的认知相关的问题，以及与他们自身与灾难相关的痛苦有关的两个项目。
独立于与儿童PTSS的其他显著关联（如年龄、性别和灾难暴露），父母感知到的高水平养育方式改变似乎使儿童在灾难后3个月出现PTSS的风险增加。然而，当样本根据风暴后父母认知和行为是否改变进行分层时，发现只有当父母报告与灾难相关的认知和行为改变时，养育方式改变才与儿童PTSS有独特的关系。
当父母报告与灾难相关的认知和行为时，他们对养育方式改变的认知（变得更具保护性、减少给予自主权以及传达当前危险感）与儿童PTSS相关。尽管无法得出这些关系的方向结论，但本研究确定了可能构成重要干预目标的养育方式。
