The DOI matches its Crossref record; 26 of the 27 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The impact of parental posttraumatic stress disorder on parenting: a systematic review
Open accessAbstract
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious and debilitating disorder that can develop following exposure to a traumatic event. Where parents develop PTSD, it may have an impact on their parenting role.Objective: The objective was to review the existing evidence base on parental PTSD, examining whether parental PTSD has an impact on key parenting domains.Method: A comprehensive web-based search identified 27 quantitative studies that examined parental PTSD in relation to parenting domains.Results: Several parenting domains were investigated including: parenting satisfaction, parenting stress, the parent–child relationship, and specific parenting practices. Sample sizes ranged from 19 to 3931 parents. A range of parental traumas were investigated, including traumatic birth experiences, military trauma, and intimate partner violence. Findings indicated associations between parental PTSD and several domains of parenting, but there were inconsistencies across studies.Conclusions: Findings suggested that parental PTSD is associated with impaired functioning across a number of parenting domains, including increased levels of parenting stress, lower parenting satisfaction, less optimal parent–child relationships, and more frequent use of negative parenting practices, such as overt hostility and controlling behaviours. However, methodological limitations across the literature as a whole limited the potential to infer causal impacts of PTSD on parenting. Further study is also needed to advance our current understanding around the impact of different trauma types on parenting domains.
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“A systematic review by Christie and colleagues (85) provided evidence for the association between parental PTSD and impaired functioning across a number of parenting domains, including increased levels of parenting stress, parenting satisfaction, and suboptimal parent–child relationships.”
From Mothering, Substance Use Disorders and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission: An Attachment-Based Perspective (2019) · cites this paper as [85]
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“Unique to PTSD, symptoms including hypervigilance or readily distracted attention can hinder one’s ability to caregive [14, 15].”
From Exploring the effects of mental health on bonding and caregiving among pregnant and postpartum persons with likely depression and/or PTSD in South Africa: a qualitative analysis (2026) · cites this paper as [14]
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Cited by
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Childbirth related PTSD and its association with infant outcome: A systematic review
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Developmental Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence on Children
Bogat, G. A., Levendosky, A. A., & Cochran, K. A. (2023) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-072720-013634 · Cited by 59
Metadata
- Authors
- Christie, H., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., Alves-Costa, F., Tomlinson, M., & Halligan, S. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Bath (GB)
- King's College London (GB)
- Stellenbosch University (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Halligan, Sarah L.
- ORCID
- Venue
- European Journal of Psychotraumatology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-01-14
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1550345-1550345
- ISSN
- 2000-8066 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6338266
- OpenAlex
- W2908615599
- Cited by
- 207
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 2.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- European Journal of Psychotraumatology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- British Academy (PM140174)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/K006290/1)
- National Department of Health (0000000)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, parental PTSD, parenting, parental stress, parenting satisfaction, parent-child relationship, birth trauma, military trauma, intimate partner violence, parental trauma
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