Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Disorders in Parents of Children and Adolescents With Chronic Physical Illnesses: A Meta‐Analysis
Abstract
The present meta-analysis analyzed whether parents of young people with pediatric chronic physical illnesses experience higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than other adults and searched for correlates of PTSS in these parents. Based on a systematic search in electronic databases, 184 studies were included in the meta-analysis. On average, 18.9% of the parents fulfilled the criteria for PTSD, and PTSS were more common among parents of young people with pediatric chronic physical illnesses than in other adults, with Hedges' g showing a 0.85 increase in standard deviation units. Parental PTSS were most prevalent among parents of children with epilepsy, g = 1.25, and diabetes, g = 1.16, and were positively associated with being the mother, r = .19; illness severity, r = .18; treatment duration/intensity, r = .21; and PTSS of the child, r = .34. In contrast, longer illness duration, r = -.19; longer time since active treatment, r = -.10; and better social resources, rs = -.17 to -.07, were associated with lower parental PTSS. The findings indicate that parents who have faced traumatic events in the context of their child's chronic illnesses should be screened for PTSS and PTSD and receive psychological interventions when needed.
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A recent meta-analysis found illness severity to be a significant predictor of PTSS in parents of children with chronic illnesses.
“a recent meta-analysis found illness severity to still be a significant predictor of PTSS in parents of children with chronic illnesses (Pinquart, 2019).”
From Parental Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Pediatric Food Allergy. (2021) · cites this paper as Pinquart, 2019
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- Authors
- Pinquart, M.
- Affiliations
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Pinquart, Martin
- ORCID
- Pinquart, Martin
- Venue
- Journal of Traumatic Stress
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-01-28
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 88-96
- ISSN
- 0894-9867 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-6598
- OpenAlex
- W2911697804
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Traumatic Stress (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family and Disability Support Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- posttraumatic stress symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder, parents of children with chronic illness, epilepsy, diabetes mellitus, maternal PTSD, disease severity, social resources, psychological intervention
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, Chronic Disease, Female, Humans, Male, Parents, Severity of Illness Index, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Prevalence
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