Introduction: Several studies have examined the impact of parents' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on their children's mental health, but few have evaluated the role of parents' specific PTSD trajectories. The aim of this study was to assess the mechanisms underlying distinct trajectories of parental PTSD that affect children's PTSD and depression through the feeling of safety.
Methods: The final sample comprised 242 dyads of parents and their children who experienced Super Typhoon Lekima in 2019. All participants were surveyed at three time points after the typhoon: 3 months (T1), 15 months (T2), and 27 months (T3). Parental PTSD symptoms at three time points and children's PTSD, depression, and feeling of safety at T3 were analyzed.
Results: Four parental PTSD trajectories were identified: recovery, resilience, delayed, and coping. Compared with the resilient group, children of parents with delayed PTSD trajectories reported higher levels of depression at T3, while children of parents in the coping group were more likely to experience severe PTSD at T3. Children of parents in the recovery group, with a reduced feeling of safety, exhibited more severe depression and PTSD at T3, whereas children of parents in the delayed group were at an increased risk of PTSD at T3.
Conclusions: These findings highlight the heterogeneity of parental PTSD trajectories following natural disasters and their distinct effects on children's PTSD and depression. Furthermore, feeling of safety emerges as a crucial mechanism in this process.
Keywords: children's PTSD; children's depression; feeling of safety; parental PTSD trajectories; traumatic events.
© 2023 Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.