Experiences of Parental PTSD for Children Aged 9–17 in Military and Emergency First Responder Families.

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Title: Experiences of Parental PTSD for Children Aged 9–17 in Military and Emergency First Responder Families.
Authors: May, Karen, Van Hooff, Miranda, Doherty, Matthew, Carter, Drew
Source: Journal of Child & Family Studies. Dec2023, Vol. 32 Issue 12, p3816-3834. 19p.
Subjects: Well-being, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Historical trauma, Children of parents with disabilities, Interviewing, Help-seeking behavior, Psychology of veterans, Experience, Parenting, Attachment behavior, Psychosocial factors, Child welfare, Emergency medical personnel, Thematic analysis, Family relations, Parent-child relationships
Geographic Terms: Australia
Abstract: This study is the first to examine the experiences of children aged 9–17 who have a military or emergency first responder (EFR) parent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These experiences of children are important to understand through a lens of intergenerational trauma theory, given the high rates of PTSD in these service populations. Additionally, we need to know if they differ from the experiences of children of civilian parents with PTSD. To examine this, we conducted a total of 17 in-depth interviews in Australia with 5 service parents, 5 co-parents and 7 children aged 9–17 who have a parent who had formerly served in the military or an emergency service. Interviewees were not always from the same family. The families included single-parent, dual-parent, separated, and same-sex families. Gender and service type (military or EFR) were evenly distributed among interviewees. We used a critical humanist approach and undertook a reflexive thematic analysis of the interview data. The major themes were (1) parental emotional extremes, volatility, and unpredictability, (2) changes in home and family relations, (3) impacts on child wellbeing, and (4) PTSD awareness and help-seeking. We found evidence of specific impacts for children related to a combination of parental PTSD symptoms and service conditioning and culture. This study highlights the role of reduced parental capacity in the transmission of trauma from parent to child. It provides an evidence base to direct policy and research into targeted and culturally specific therapeutic interventions and support services for children and parents in service families living with PTSD. Highlights: Policy, research and practice need to incorporate service culture and access for all family members. Service families with PTSD need emotional regulation programmes addressing anger. Clinical assessment needs to improve for secondary, vicarious and moral trauma types. Insecure attachment styles related to parental PTSD need to be addressed in interventions. PTSD psychoeducation must be accessible for family members from diagnosis to post treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Child & Family Studies is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Child+%26+Family+Studies%22">Journal of Child & Family Studies</searchLink>. Dec2023, Vol. 32 Issue 12, p3816-3834. 19p.
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  Data: This study is the first to examine the experiences of children aged 9–17 who have a military or emergency first responder (EFR) parent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These experiences of children are important to understand through a lens of intergenerational trauma theory, given the high rates of PTSD in these service populations. Additionally, we need to know if they differ from the experiences of children of civilian parents with PTSD. To examine this, we conducted a total of 17 in-depth interviews in Australia with 5 service parents, 5 co-parents and 7 children aged 9–17 who have a parent who had formerly served in the military or an emergency service. Interviewees were not always from the same family. The families included single-parent, dual-parent, separated, and same-sex families. Gender and service type (military or EFR) were evenly distributed among interviewees. We used a critical humanist approach and undertook a reflexive thematic analysis of the interview data. The major themes were (1) parental emotional extremes, volatility, and unpredictability, (2) changes in home and family relations, (3) impacts on child wellbeing, and (4) PTSD awareness and help-seeking. We found evidence of specific impacts for children related to a combination of parental PTSD symptoms and service conditioning and culture. This study highlights the role of reduced parental capacity in the transmission of trauma from parent to child. It provides an evidence base to direct policy and research into targeted and culturally specific therapeutic interventions and support services for children and parents in service families living with PTSD. Highlights: Policy, research and practice need to incorporate service culture and access for all family members. Service families with PTSD need emotional regulation programmes addressing anger. Clinical assessment needs to improve for secondary, vicarious and moral trauma types. Insecure attachment styles related to parental PTSD need to be addressed in interventions. PTSD psychoeducation must be accessible for family members from diagnosis to post treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Child & Family Studies is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1007/s10826-023-02669-y
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 3816
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Well-being
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Post-traumatic stress disorder
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Historical trauma
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Children of parents with disabilities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interviewing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Help-seeking behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychology of veterans
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Experience
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parenting
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      – SubjectFull: Attachment behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Psychosocial factors
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      – SubjectFull: Child welfare
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      – SubjectFull: Emergency medical personnel
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      – SubjectFull: Thematic analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Family relations
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      – SubjectFull: Parent-child relationships
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      – SubjectFull: Australia
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Experiences of Parental PTSD for Children Aged 9–17 in Military and Emergency First Responder Families.
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            NameFull: May, Karen
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            NameFull: Van Hooff, Miranda
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              M: 12
              Text: Dec2023
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              Y: 2023
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