Psychiatric Symptoms, Posttraumatic Growth, and Life Satisfaction Among Parents of Seriously Ill Infants: A

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Krista Koivula1, Siiri Isokääntä2,3, Kati Tavast3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Kuopio University Hospital (KYS), Puijonlaaksontie 2, PO Box 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland. krista.koivula@kuh.fi.

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
|March 28, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Parents of critically ill newborns experienced more stress and depression. While life satisfaction initially dipped, it normalized after a year, with many parents showing significant posttraumatic growth.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal intensive care
  • Parental mental health
  • Psychological outcomes

Background:

  • Infants requiring therapeutic hypothermia or surgery face critical health challenges.
  • Parental well-being is significantly impacted by infant critical illness.
  • Understanding long-term psychological effects on parents is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess psychiatric symptoms, posttraumatic growth, and life satisfaction in parents of critically ill newborns.
  • To compare outcomes between parents of infants requiring intensive care and parents of healthy infants.
  • To examine changes in parental well-being over a one-year period.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study comparing parents of infants needing therapeutic hypothermia/surgery (interest group, n=34) with parents of healthy newborns (control group, n=60).
  • Surveys administered shortly after birth/diagnosis and again at 12 months post-discharge.
  • Assessment of general stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, life satisfaction, and posttraumatic growth.

Main Results:

  • The interest group reported higher stress and depressive symptoms than the control group.
  • Anxiety decreased from baseline in both groups, but was initially higher in the interest group.
  • Life satisfaction was lower in the interest group early on but normalized by 12 months.
  • Mothers reported more anxiety, depression, and traumatic distress than fathers.
  • Approximately 50% of parents in the interest group experienced substantial posttraumatic growth at 12 months.

Conclusions:

  • Infant critical illness significantly impacts parental mental health and well-being, particularly in the early stages.
  • While initial psychiatric symptoms are elevated, parental well-being shows resilience over time, with significant posttraumatic growth observed.
  • Long-term follow-up is essential to understand the evolving psychological landscape of parents navigating infant critical illness.

Keywords:
AnomalyAsphyxiaInfantParentPsychiatric symptomsResilience

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