Abstract
BackgroundIncreased understanding of the relationships between different symptom clusters involved in posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) could guide empirical research and clinical practice. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether hyperarousal and avoidance mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria in parents of children diagnosed with cancer.MethodsLongitudinal data from parents of children receiving cancer therapy were used. PTSS were assessed using the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version at one week (T1), two (T2) and four months (T3) after diagnosis. Mediation analyses for multiple mediators were conducted for mothers (n = 122) and fathers (n = 121), respectively. The mediation model tested the assumption that the PTSS symptom clusters hyperarousal and avoidance mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria.ResultsFor fathers, none of the hypothesized mediators were significant. For mothers, hyperarousal mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria, but avoidance did not.ConclusionsResults suggest that hyperarousal is important for the development of dysphoria in mothers, supporting use of interventions targeting such symptoms in the early and ongoing period following the child’s diagnosis.
Highlights
The experience of having a child diagnosed with cancer can be overwhelming and can cause extensive distress for parents [1, 2]
Hyperarousal mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria, but avoidance did not
Results suggest that hyperarousal is important for the development of dysphoria in mothers, supporting use of interventions targeting such symptoms in the early and ongoing period following the child’s diagnosis
Summary
The experience of having a child diagnosed with cancer can be overwhelming and can cause extensive distress for parents [1, 2]. Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) have been identified as one of the most evident and important psychological consequences for parents of children diagnosed with cancer [3]. PTSS consist of different types of symptoms such as re-experiencing aspects of the trauma, avoidance of reminders, and emotional and physical symptoms [10]. Despite the number of studies reporting on PTSS in parents of children diagnosed with cancer, there is a lack of research examining the relationships between these different types of symptoms. Such research could increase the understanding of the development of PTSS in parents of children diagnosed with cancer and could guide further empirical research and clinical practice with this population. Increased understanding of the relationships between different symptom clusters involved in posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) could guide empirical research and clinical practice. The PCL-C measure has demonstrated robust psychometric properties with adequate internal consistency for the full scale, test-retest reliability, and evidence for good convergent and discriminant validity when compared to other well-established PTSS measures [37]
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