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Psychosocial, Demographic, and Illness‐Related Factors Associated With Acute Traumatic Stress Responses in Parents of Children With a Serious Illness or Injury
Author(s) -
Muscara Frank,
McCarthy Maria C.,
Thompson Emma J.,
Heaney ClaireMarie,
Hearps Stephen J. C.,
Rayner Meredith,
Burke Kylie,
Nicholson Jan M.,
Anderson Vicki A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.22193
Subject(s) - psychosocial , medicine , psychological intervention , multilevel model , social support , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychology , machine learning , computer science , psychotherapist
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.