Unexpected Childhood Death: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Surviving Siblings and Parents

Abstract

Investigated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in surviving siblings who had lost a brother or sister to accidental death (N = 10) or homicide (N = 10). All the surviving siblings reported PTSD symptomatology, with 45% meeting criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) for the disorder. Parents, however, were not necessarily aware of their children's symptoms, perhaps because the parents were also coping with symptoms (35% met DSM-III-R criteria for PTSD). The surviving siblings in the accident and murder groups did not differ significantly in PTSD severity. Parents of murdered children did, however, report more PTSD symptoms than parents of children who suffered accidental death. Higher levels of parental PTSD were also associated with higher levels of PTSD in the surviving sibling.