Children’s Enduring PTSD Symptoms are Related to Their Family’s Adaptability and Cohesion

• DOI: 10.1007/s10597-008-9166-3
• Publication Date: 2009-07-20T02:59:14Z
• Authors: Philippe Birmes; Jean-Philippe Ray...; Laetitia Daubisse; Alain Brunet; Christophe Arbus; Rémy Klein; Lionel Cailhol; Charlotte Allenou; Franck Hazane; Hélène Grandjean; Laurent Schmitt
• Keywords: Male; Adolescent; Explosions; Disasters; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Surveys and Questionnaires; Adaptation, Psychological; Humans; Female; Family Relations; France; Child

This study compared, 18-24 months after an industrial disaster, in two groups of children (those with clinically relevant PTSD symptoms versus those with low PTSD symptoms), the child's perception of family cohesion and adaptability, the child's experience of the explosion, and parental characteristics. Enmeshed family cohesion or rigid family adaptability were more frequently found in children with low PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms in the mother, living in a family of 3 or more children, and being female were significantly associated with PTSD symptoms in the children. The assessment of traumatized children should include assessment of family's adaptability and cohesion.