Psychosocial, Demographic, and Illness‐Related Factors Associated With Acute Traumatic Stress Responses in Parents of Children With a Serious Illness or Injury

• Published in: Journal of traumatic stress 2017-06, Vol.30 (3), p.237-244
• Main Authors: Muscara, Frank, McCarthy, Maria C., Thompson, Emma J., Heaney, Claire‐Marie, Hearps, Stephen J. C., Rayner, Meredith, Burke, Kylie, Nicholson, Jan M., Anderson, Vicki A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety - epidemiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Critical Illness - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Infant; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric - statistics & numerical data; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Pediatrics; Risk Factors; Stress; Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute - prevention & control; Studies; Trauma; Winter
• ISSN: 0894-9867; 1573-6598
• DOI: 10.1002/jts.22193

This study investigated factors associated with acute stress symptoms in parents of seriously ill children across a range of illnesses and treatment settings within a pediatric hospital setting. It was hypothesized that psychosocial variables would be more strongly associated with acute stress responses than demographic and child illness variables. Participants were 115 mothers and 56 fathers of children treated within the oncology, cardiology, and intensive care departments of a pediatric hospital. Acute stress, psychosocial, demographic, and medical data were collected within the first 4 weeks of the child's hospital admission. A robust hierarchical regression model revealed that psychosocial factors significantly explained 36.8% of the variance in parent acute stress responses (p < .001); demographic variables significantly added a further 4.5% (p = .022), but illness‐related factors did not contribute to the model. Findings support the implementation of a general psychosocial screening approach for parents across the wider hospital system, and that psychosocial risk factors may be targeted in interventions across different illnesses and treatment settings to improve parent outcomes. Resumen Spanish s by the Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET) Este estudio investigó factores asociados con los síntomas de estrés agudo en padres de niños seriamente enfermos,en un amplio rango de enfermedades y escenarios de tratamiento, dentro del contexto de un hospital pediátrico. Se hipotetizó que las variables psicosociales estarían más fuertemente asociadas con las respuestas agudas a estrés que las variables demográficas y de la enfermedad del niño. Los participantes fueron 115 madres y 56 padres de niños tratados dentro de los departamentos de oncología, cardiología, y cuidados intensivos de un hospital pediátrico. Se recogieron datos de estrés agudo, psicosociales, demográficos y médicos dentro de las primeras cuatro semanas del ingreso del niño al hospital.Un robusto modelo de regresión jerárquico reveló que los factores psicosociales explicaban de forma significativa el 36.8% de la varianza de las respuestas a estrés agudo de los padres (p