Citation

Morris A, Gabert-Quillen C, Delahanty DL. J. Pediatr. Psychol. 2012; 37(10): 1076-1088.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Kent State University and Department of Psychology in Psychiatry, Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/jpepsy/jss091

PMID

23019132

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The present article presents a meta-analysis of studies examining the association between parent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)/depression symptoms and child PTSD symptoms (PTSS) after a child's exposure to a traumatic event while considering multiple moderating factors to explain heterogeneity of effect sizes. METHODS: 35 studies were included: 32 involving the association between parent and child PTSS and 9 involving the association between parent depression and child PTSS. RESULTS: Across existing studies, both parent and child PTSS (r = 0.31) and parent depression and child PTSS (r = 0.32) yielded significant effect sizes. Parent gender, assessment type (interview vs. questionnaire), differences in assessment type for parents and children, and study design (cross-sectional vs. longitudinal) moderated the relationship between parent and child PTSS. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings confirm the associations between parental posttraumatic responses and child PTSS and highlight important moderating factors to include in future studies of child PTSS.

Language: en