• Madelon B Bronner, Niels Peek, Hennie Knoester, Albert P Bos, Bob F Last, and Martha A Grootenhuis.
• Psychosocial Department, Emma Children's Hospital AMC, The Netherlands. m.b.bronner@amc.nl
• J Pediatr Psychol. 2010 Oct 1; 35 (9): 966-74.

ObjectiveTo study posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents after unexpected pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) treatment of their child and to identify risk factors for its development.MethodParents completed PTSD questionnaires 3 and 9 months (N = 190) after PICU treatment. Risk factors included pretrauma data, medical data, social demographics and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months.ResultsIn total, 30.3% of parents met criteria for subclinical PTSD and 12.6% for clinical PTSD at 3 months. Clinical PTSD prevalence rates did not change over time. At 9 months, 10.5% of parents still met criteria for PTSD. Number of earlier stressful life events, earlier psychosocial care and posttraumatic stress responses at 3 months predicted persistent subclinical and clinical PTSD.ConclusionsPICU admission is a stressful event associated with persistent parental PTSD. Assessment of risk factors can facilitate detection of persistent PTSD for early intervention.

20 keywords...

hide…