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Brief report: mothers' long-term posttraumatic stress symptoms following a burn event of their child
Anne Bakker1, Nancy E E Van Loey, Maarten J M Van Son
1Association of Dutch Burn Centres, PO Box 1015, 1940 abakker@burns.nl
Objective:
This prospective longitudinal study examines the course of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in mothers of children with burns between 1 and 11 years after the burn event and the role of burn severity and feelings of guilt on this course.
Method:
Self-reported PTSS of 48 mothers were measured with the Impact of Event Scale. Guilt feelings were assessed during an in-depth interview 2 years after the burn event. Eleven years after the burn event, mothers marked their child's scars at the present time on a drawing.
Results:
Over a period of 10 years, maternal PTSS decreased. Multiple regression analysis showed that the interaction between guilt and burn severity predicted the course of PTSS.
Conclusions:
Although PTSS substantially decreases through the years, a subset of mothers, in particular mothers who feel guilty about the burn event and whose children have more extensive permanent scarring seem at risk for longer term PTSS.
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