Intergenerational Effects of Maternal PTSD: Roles of Parenting Stress and Child Sex

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Georgina Hartzell, Emory University; Anaïs F Stenson, Emory University; Sanne J.H van Rooij, Emory University; Ye Ji Kim, Emory University; L. Alexander Vance, Emory University; Rebecca Hinrichs, Emory University; Nadine Kaslow, Emory University; Bekh Bradley, Emory University; Tanja Jovanovic, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-10-01
• Publisher: EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING FOUNDATION-AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2024 American Psychological Association.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000542
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA-THEORY RESEARCH PRACTICE AND POLICY
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: 1089
• End Page: 1098
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Health, MH100122, MH111682, and HD071982.
• Keywords: Psychiatry; IMPACT; DEPRESSION; trauma; VIOLENCE; WARMTH; DISORDER; Psychology; TRAUMA EXPOSURE; parenting stress; MOTHERS; Social Sciences; DISTRESS; SYMPTOMS; Science & Technology; Psychology, Clinical; parent-child interaction; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; PTSD; ANXIETY; moderated mediation
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Health Sciences, Public Health; Education, Social Sciences; Psychology, Clinical

Abstract

Objectives: Parental posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increases children’s risk for emotional and behavioral problems. We examined parenting stress and parenting behavior quality as mediators of the relation between maternal PTSD and problematic child behaviors in a sample at high risk for trauma exposure. We also examined whether child sex moderated this association. Method: Participants were 141 African American mother–child dyads (children aged 8–12). Mothers reported PTSD severity, parenting stress, and child behavior (externalizing, internalizing, and emotional self-control). Parenting behavior quality (accounting for factors including parental warmth and engagement) was assessed from an observational parent–child interaction task. Results: Parenting stress, but not observed parenting behavior quality, mediated the relation between maternal PTSD severity and child behaviors. Child sex moderated this association, such that the effect was stronger for girls. Conclusions: Maternal PTSD may be associated with negative child behavior outcomes, and this relation appears to be mediated by increased parenting stress. Stress-reducing interventions for parents with PTSD could improve child outcomes, especially for girls.