The Role of Parents, Parenting and the Family Environment in Children’s Post-Disaster Mental Health

Abstract

There is widespread support for the hypothesis that, post-disaster, children's mental health is impacted--at least in part--via the impact on parents, parenting, parent-child interactions, and the family environment. To some degree, the enthusiasm with which this hypothesis is held outstrips the evidence examining it. The current paper critically evaluates the empirical evidence for this hypothesis and concludes that although limited (both in terms of number of existing studies and methodological flaws), the extant literature indicates some parent-related variables, as well as some aspects of the family environment are likely to constitute risk or protective factors for children. Given that parenting is modifiable, it is proposed that the identified parent- and family-related factors represent important therapeutic targets, and a universal post-disaster parenting intervention (Disaster Recovery Triple P) is described.

The Parent Trauma Response Questionnaire (PTRQ): development and preliminary validation

“…endorsing avoidance of trauma cues) and general overprotective support style, were associated with both a standard measure of parental overprotection and higher child PTSS. The association between maladaptive parenting style and child PTSS is consistent with preliminary empirical evidence that parents’ own coping and response can influence a child’s post-trauma coping (Cobham, McDermott, Haslam, & Sanders, 2016; Marsac et al, 2013) and psychological adjustment (Ostrowski, Christopher, & Delahanty, 2006). Such parenting behaviours may increase a child’s perceived vulnerability to threat post-trauma and prevent the elaboration and processing of the child’s trauma memory (Salmond et al, 2011; Wood et al, 2003).…”

“…There is some evidence that either too much or too little trauma-related talk may predict child distress in post-disaster samples (Cobham et al, 2016), again consistent with complexity in providing positive support. The logical conclusion based on our findings in relation to maladaptive support is that addressing parental tendencies to support avoidant coping in the child could be beneficial.…”

“…For example, the PTRQ could be used to identify families with particularly negative or anxious parenting practices and facilitate the provision of support or guidance for behavioural change (Cobham et al, 2016). That said, whether child symptoms evoke negative parenting or vice versa remains unclear; it is possible that effective treatment of child PTSS alone may lead to changes in parenting practices (King et al, 2000; Silverman et al, 2008).…”

Parental Experiences of Supporting Children with Clinically Significant Post-Traumatic Distress: a Qualitative Study of Families Accessing Psychological Services

“…Recent research has extolled the importance of parental engagement in child psychological treatment post-trauma (Cobham et al 2016) and parent and child satisfaction with services is strongly associated with treatment completion and functional improvement (Garland et al 2007;Oruche et al 2014;Ronzoni and Dogra 2012). Therefore, clinical care and psychological interventions may be enhanced by the inclusion of targeted information and advice for families engaged with psychological services following child trauma exposure.…”

“…Parental post-trauma distress stemming from child trauma exposure may cause parents to be less available to their child, lead to the promotion of maladaptive coping strategies, or cause parental difficulties in discussing the event which may obstruct child recovery (Nugent et al 2007;Schwartz et al 1994) The limited available evidence suggests that only a small minority of children with PTSD access treatment (De Vries et al 1999), and parents are likely to be an important determinant of this. Moreover, parental involvement in child psychotherapy may not only influence drop-out rates but parents may also foster child adjustment by helping children to practice therapeutic coping strategies at home (Chowdhury and Pancha 2011;Cobham et al 2016;Schneider et al 2013). However, parental perceptions of and engagement with their child's psychological treatment post-trauma have received limited research attention (e.g.…”