Trauma and Parenting: Informing Clinical Practice with Recent Research Findings

Opinion statement Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common consequence of interpersonal violence (IPV). Maternal IPV-related PTSD has been shown to interfere with the mothers’ ability to join with their children in mutual emotion regulation, a pre-requisite for the development of self-regul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current treatment options in pediatrics 2017-03, Vol.3 (1), p.1-14
Main Authors: Suardi, Francesca, Rothenberg, Molly, Serpa, Sandra Rusconi, Schechter, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Caregivers
Communication
Critical Care Medicine
Domestic violence
Epigenetics
Families & family life
Family Medicine
General Practice
Intensive
Maternal and Child Health
Medical imaging
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental disorders
Mental Health (WF Njoroge and TD Benton
Mothers
Nervous system
Neuroimaging
Parent-child relations
Parents & parenting
Pediatrics
Physiology
Post traumatic stress disorder
Psychobiology
Psychopathology
Psychotherapy
Section Editors
Topical Collection on Mental Health
Trauma
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Summary:Opinion statement Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common consequence of interpersonal violence (IPV). Maternal IPV-related PTSD has been shown to interfere with the mothers’ ability to join with their children in mutual emotion regulation, a pre-requisite for the development of self-regulation. Studies have shown that parental reflective functioning (PRF; i.e., the attribution of mental states that may be inferred to motivate interactive behavior) and maternal sensitivity (MS) are protective factors. Both PRF and MS are associated with secure child-parent attachment. The stronger these factors are at baseline, the more they improve the chances of a mother with IPV-PTSD seeking help in order to benefit quickly from both physical and mental health assessment and intervention. Pediatricians should routinely assess the history of IPV in the family environment taking into account the parent-child relationship, through observing parent-child interaction and listening to how the parent talks about her child and other important attachment relationships. Health professionals can learn to support and model PRF with traumatized parents.
ISSN:2198-6088
2198-6088
DOI:10.1007/s40746-017-0075-y