Department of Psychology, Georgia Southern University.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.
Psychol Trauma. 2018 May;10(3):327-335. doi: 10.1037/tra0000264. Epub 2017 May 8.
Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with problematic parenting and incidence of trauma and PTSD in children of affected parents. In communities impacted by frequent trauma, parenting may be particularly important to children's PTSD risk. The authors examined relationships among maternal and child trauma and mental health, as well as problematic parenting.
The authors recruited 112 mother-child dyads (50 girls, 62 boys; ages 8-12 years old) from a community sample of low-income, primarily African American families. They examined rates of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms in mothers and children, the association of maternal trauma and PTSD with self-reported child abuse potential and parenting stress (i.e., parental distress, dysfunctional parent-child interactions, and perceived child difficulty), and the impact of maternal trauma, PTSD, and parenting on child trauma and PTSD.
Rates of trauma and PTSD symptoms were relatively high for mothers and children and included community and family violence. Maternal trauma and PTSD predicted child abuse potential, but only maternal PTSD predicted parental distress. Neither maternal trauma nor PTSD predicted parent-reported dysfunctional parent-child interactions or child difficulty. Maternal child abuse potential and child self-reported trauma, but not maternal trauma or PTSD, significantly predicted child self-reported PTSD. Parenting stress was not associated with child PTSD.
Trauma and PTSD in parents may impact parental distress and child abuse potential, potentially increasing children's risk for not only the experience of child abuse, but also PTSD. Child and family interventions should consider child and parental trauma and PTSD as important factors to address. (PsycINFO Database Record
创伤和创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）与不良养育有关，且父母患有创伤和 PTSD 会增加子女患创伤和 PTSD 的风险。在经常遭受创伤的社区中，养育方式可能对儿童 PTSD 风险特别重要。作者研究了母亲和儿童的创伤和心理健康以及不良养育之间的关系。
作者从一个低收入、主要是非洲裔美国家庭的社区样本中招募了 112 对母婴二人组（50 名女孩，62 名男孩；年龄 8-12 岁）。他们检查了母亲和儿童的创伤暴露和 PTSD 症状发生率、母亲创伤和 PTSD 与自我报告的儿童虐待倾向以及养育压力（即父母压力、父母与子女互动功能障碍和感知儿童困难）之间的关联，以及母亲创伤、PTSD 和养育对儿童创伤和 PTSD 的影响。
母亲和儿童的创伤和 PTSD 症状发生率相对较高，包括社区和家庭暴力。母亲创伤和 PTSD 预测了儿童虐待倾向，但只有母亲 PTSD 预测了父母压力。母亲创伤和 PTSD 均未预测父母报告的父母与子女互动功能障碍或儿童困难。母亲的儿童虐待倾向和儿童自我报告的创伤，但不是母亲的创伤或 PTSD，显著预测了儿童自我报告的 PTSD。养育压力与儿童 PTSD 无关。
父母的创伤和 PTSD 可能会影响父母的压力和儿童虐待倾向，从而增加儿童遭受虐待和 PTSD 的风险。儿童和家庭干预措施应将儿童和父母的创伤和 PTSD 视为需要解决的重要因素。
