Parenting Support and PTSD in Children of a War Zone

A.A. Thabet, A.N. Ibraheem, R. Shivram, E.A. Winter and P. Vostanis
Additional contact information
A.A. Thabet: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Al Quds University, School of Public Health, Gaza
A.N. Ibraheem: Al Quds University, School of Public Health, Gaza
R. Shivram: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Leicester, Greenwood Institute of Child Health, Leicester, UK
E.A. Winter: Psychology, University of Leicester, Institute of Life Long Learning, Leicester, UK
P. Vostanis: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Westcotes House, Leicester, UK, pv11@le.ac.uk

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2009, vol. 55, issue 3, 226-237

Abstract: Background: The protective role of parenting factors on the mental well-being of children exposed to war trauma remains an under-researched area. Aim: To establish the relationship between perceived positive parenting support and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in children exposed to war trauma. Methods: A random sample of 412 children aged 12—16 years was selected from the Gaza Strip and was assessed using the Gaza Traumatic Events Checklist (GTEC), the SCID (DSM-IV) and the Perceived Parenting Support Scale (PPSS). Results: Palestinian children were exposed to different types of war-traumatic events. The number of exposed traumatic events was independently associated with the severity of post-traumatic symptoms scores or the diagnosis of PTSD, while perceived parenting support was found to act as a protective factor in this association. Conclusions: Interventions in war zones need to ensure the minimal possible disruption to communities and family units, and to involve parents in preventive or treatment programmes for children exposed to trauma.

Keywords: trauma; war; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); parental support; parenting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764008096100 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:55:y:2009:i:3:p:226-237

DOI: 10.1177/0020764008096100

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Social Psychiatry
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().