Shi X, Zhou Y, Geng F, Li Y, Zhou J, Lei B, Chen S, Chen X, Fan F. J. Affect. Disord. 2017; 226: 301-306.
Affiliation
School of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: fangfan@scnu.edu.cn.
BACKGROUND: Previous research has examined the association between parents' and children's posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSS) after a variety of traumatic events. However, longitudinal parent-child dyadic studies are scarce.
METHODS: Independent self-reports were collected from parent-adolescent dyads (n = 688) after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Adolescents (Mean = 15.22 years; 61.63% female) and one of their parents (Mean = 41.04 years; 58.14% female) each reported on their PTSS at 12 (T12m) and 18 months (T18m) following the earthquake. Longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models (APIMs) were used to examine PTSS within dyads.
RESULTS: The prevalence rates of probable PTSD at T12m and T18m were 18.90% and 11.92% in adolescents; as well as 22.09% and 15.12% in parents, showing a significant decline over time. After adjusted for earthquake exposure, both maternal and paternal PTSS at T12m prospectively predicted adolescent girls' and boys' PTSS at T18m (mother to daughter: β = 0.13; mother to son: β = 0.17; father to daughter: β = 0.17; father to son: β = 0.33), while adolescent girls' and boys' PTSS at T12m only predicted maternal PTSS at T18m (daughter to mother: β = 0.20; son to mother: β = 0.20), but not paternal PTSS at T18m. LIMITATIONS: Self-reported measures other than clinical reviews were used to collect data.
CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the mutual impacts of adolescent and parental (especially maternal) PTSS after a disaster. Psychological prevention and intervention for adolescent disaster survivors should adopt a whole family approach.