Posttraumatic symptoms and cognitions in parents of children and adolescents with PTSD

Parents may develop symptoms of distress and dysfunctional cognitions in response to their child's exposure to traumatic events. Additionally, they may also be affected by their own traumatic experiences. This study investigated the frequency of traumatic experiences and of symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression in a sample of parents of children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, we explored the association of parental symptoms with their dysfunctional cognitions related to their child's trauma. Parents (N = 113) of children and adolescents with PTSD completed the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS), the Beck depression inventory (BDI-II), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory. Correlations between symptom measures and dysfunctional cognitions were calculated. The majority (78.8 %) of the parents reported their own potentially traumatic experiences. Furthermore, 33.6 % evaluated their child's trauma as the worst event, 34.5 % rated their own experiences as their worst event, and 26.5 % indicated that their own worst traumatic event was the same type as their child's trauma. The frequency of clinically elevated parental symptoms on the PDS was 48.6 %, and on the BDI-II 32.7 %. Parental symptoms were independent of the reference person of the parental traumatic index event. However, they did correlate significantly with their dysfunctional cognitions (between r = 0.44 and 0.69, p < 0.01). Many parents report their own traumatic experiences and a significant proportion has its own clinically relevant symptoms of distress. Parental psychological symptoms are moderately associated with their dysfunctional cognitions. The results emphasize the need to consider parental distress when treating pediatric PTSD.