Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious and debilitating disorder that can develop following exposure to a traumatic event. Where parents develop PTSD, it may have an impact on their parenting role.Objective: The objective was to review the existing evidence base on parental PTSD, examining whether parental PTSD has an impact on key parenting domains.Method: A comprehensive web-based search identified 27 quantitative studies that examined parental PTSD in relation to parenting domains.Results: Several parenting domains were investigated including: parenting satisfaction, parenting stress, the parent–child relationship, and specific parenting practices. Sample sizes ranged from 19 to 3931 parents. A range of parental traumas were investigated, including traumatic birth experiences, military trauma, and intimate partner violence. Findings indicated associations between parental PTSD and several domains of parenting, but there were inconsistencies across studies.Conclusions: Findings suggested that parental PTSD is associated with impaired functioning across a number of parenting domains, including increased levels of parenting stress, lower parenting satisfaction, less optimal parent–child relationships, and more frequent use of negative parenting practices, such as overt hostility and controlling behaviours. However, methodological limitations across the literature as a whole limited the potential to infer causal impacts of PTSD on parenting. Further study is also needed to advance our current understanding around the impact of different trauma types on parenting domains.

Prevalence rates of PTSD are higher in the prison population than in the community. We sought to systematically review the extent to which this disorder is associated with other mental health disorders and problematic suicidal or aggressive behaviours in the prison population. Methods Studies reporting a relationship between PTSD and comorbid mental disorders and/or problematic behaviours in imprisoned adolescent and adult populations were identified from four bibliographic indexes. Primary studies involving clinical interviews, validated instruments leading to DSM or ICD diagnoses, or validated self-report questionnaires such as the PTSD checklist were included. Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted where possible. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Results This review identified 36 studies, with a combined sample of 9594 participants, (6478 male and 2847 female prisoners) from 11 countries. Thirty-four of the identified studies employed a cross-sectional design. We identified significant associations between PTSD and comorbid mental disorders including depression (OR = 3.4, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.3-4.9), anxiety (OR = 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8-4.7) and substance use (OR = 1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5-2.4). We also identified significant associations between PTSD and suicidality (OR = 3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.4-3.8) and aggressive behaviours (this latter finding was not subject to meta-analysis). Significant methodological heterogeneity was identified between studies.

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