Citation

Wilson CK, Padrón E, Samuelson KW. Violence Vict. 2017; 32(1): 141-158.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-13-00077

PMID

28234203

Abstract

Trauma exposure is associated with various parenting difficulties, but few studies have examined relationships between trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and parenting stress. Parenting stress is an important facet of parenting and mediates the relationship between parental trauma exposure and negative child outcomes (Owen, Thompson, & Kaslow, 2006). We examined trauma type (child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, community violence, and non-interpersonal traumas) and PTSD symptoms as predictors of parenting stress in a sample of 52 trauma-exposed mothers. Community violence exposure and PTSD symptom severity accounted for significant variance in parenting stress. Further analyses revealed that emotional numbing was the only PTSD symptom cluster accounting for variance in parenting stress scores.

RESULTS highlight the importance of addressing community violence exposure and emotion regulation difficulties with trauma-exposed mothers.

Language: en