Family Communication Styles and Resilience among Adolescents

Some adolescents manage to be resilient, whereas others develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after experiencing trauma, but the mechanisms underlying these differences are unclear. Public secondary school students (N = 98) referred for counseling completed questionnaires assessing e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social work (New York) 2017-07, Vol.62 (3), p.261-269
Main Authors: Acuña, M. Alejandra, Kataoka, Sheryl
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
California - epidemiology
Communication
Counseling
Female
Humans
Male
Parent-Child Relations
Post traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Regression Analysis
Resilience, Psychological
Risk Factors
Schools
Secondary School Students
Sex Distribution
Social Work
Stress
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Students
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teenagers
Violence - psychology
Violence - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Some adolescents manage to be resilient, whereas others develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after experiencing trauma, but the mechanisms underlying these differences are unclear. Public secondary school students (N = 98) referred for counseling completed questionnaires assessing exposure to stressful events, family communication, and PTSD. Seventy percent of the sample reported PTSD symptoms in the clinical range. Open family communication was negatively associated with female gender, problem family communication (PFC), and PTSD symptom severity. PFC was positively associated with female gender, number of stressful events, and PTSD symptom severity. Family storytelling style had a negative association with age, PFC, and avoidance symptoms. In the full regression model only the number of life events and PFC appeared to have an independent effect on PTSD symptom severity. Results indicate that exposure to stressful life events and poor family communication are associated with increased risk for PTSD symptoms. Findings may be useful in family-focused approaches to treating adolescents with trauma histories and highlighting the importance of PTSD screening in school-based counseling.
ISSN:0037-8046
1545-6846
DOI:10.1093/sw/swx017