Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents
Background: In 2015 nearly 140 million children and adolescents under 18 had experienced the death of one or both parents. Parental death is often considered the most traumatic event that a child can experience in their lifetime. While parental loss may lead to the development of prolonged grief dis...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2021-01-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1936916 |
| _version_ | 1797844556418383872 |
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| author | Alexis Revet Agnès Suc Françoise Auriol A. A. A. Manik J. Djelantik Jean-Philippe Raynaud Eric Bui |
| author_facet | Alexis Revet Agnès Suc Françoise Auriol A. A. A. Manik J. Djelantik Jean-Philippe Raynaud Eric Bui |
| author_sort | Alexis Revet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: In 2015 nearly 140 million children and adolescents under 18 had experienced the death of one or both parents. Parental death is often considered the most traumatic event that a child can experience in their lifetime. While parental loss may lead to the development of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), little is known about risk factors for such negative mental health outcome in children. Objective: The present study aims to examine peritraumatic reactions as predictors of PGD in children who lost a parent. Method: Thirty-four children (M age = 10.9, SD = 3.2, 67.6% females) who lost a parent (time since death = 4.6 months, SD = 2.3) were assessed for peritraumatic distress and peritraumatic dissociation experienced at the time of the loss, and for PGD symptom severity at three timepoints post-loss (<6 months; 6–12 months; >12 months). Results: PGD score was correlated with peritraumatic distress (.61; p < .01) but not with peritraumatic dissociation (.24; p = .3). Results from the mixed-model regression analysis identified peritraumatic distress as the only significant predictor of PGD symptom severity (B = 1.58, SE = .31; p < .0001), with no statistically significant effect of peritraumatic dissociation (B = – .43, SE = .36; p = .2), or time (B = – 3.84, SE = 2.99; p = .2). Conclusion: Our results suggest that peritraumatic distress might be useful to identify children at risk for developing PGD, and in need of further support. The development of early preventive strategies to prevent PGD in parentally bereaved children who experienced high peritraumatic distress is warranted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:24:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d8a3c2ac70124d0dab3c589f77139ca1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-8066 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:24:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-d8a3c2ac70124d0dab3c589f77139ca12023-04-18T14:59:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology2000-80662021-01-0112110.1080/20008198.2021.19369161936916Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescentsAlexis Revet0Agnès Suc1Françoise Auriol2A. A. A. Manik J. Djelantik3Jean-Philippe Raynaud4Eric Bui5Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l’Enfant et de l’Adolescent, CHU de ToulouseCHU de ToulouseHôpital des Enfants, CHU de ToulouseUniversity Medical Centre UtrechtService Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l’Enfant et de l’Adolescent, CHU de ToulouseMassachusetts General HospitalBackground: In 2015 nearly 140 million children and adolescents under 18 had experienced the death of one or both parents. Parental death is often considered the most traumatic event that a child can experience in their lifetime. While parental loss may lead to the development of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), little is known about risk factors for such negative mental health outcome in children. Objective: The present study aims to examine peritraumatic reactions as predictors of PGD in children who lost a parent. Method: Thirty-four children (M age = 10.9, SD = 3.2, 67.6% females) who lost a parent (time since death = 4.6 months, SD = 2.3) were assessed for peritraumatic distress and peritraumatic dissociation experienced at the time of the loss, and for PGD symptom severity at three timepoints post-loss (<6 months; 6–12 months; >12 months). Results: PGD score was correlated with peritraumatic distress (.61; p < .01) but not with peritraumatic dissociation (.24; p = .3). Results from the mixed-model regression analysis identified peritraumatic distress as the only significant predictor of PGD symptom severity (B = 1.58, SE = .31; p < .0001), with no statistically significant effect of peritraumatic dissociation (B = – .43, SE = .36; p = .2), or time (B = – 3.84, SE = 2.99; p = .2). Conclusion: Our results suggest that peritraumatic distress might be useful to identify children at risk for developing PGD, and in need of further support. The development of early preventive strategies to prevent PGD in parentally bereaved children who experienced high peritraumatic distress is warranted.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1936916peritraumatic distressperitraumatic dissociationcomplicated griefchildren and adolescents |
| spellingShingle | Alexis Revet Agnès Suc Françoise Auriol A. A. A. Manik J. Djelantik Jean-Philippe Raynaud Eric Bui Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents European Journal of Psychotraumatology peritraumatic distress peritraumatic dissociation complicated grief children and adolescents |
| title | Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents |
| title_full | Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents |
| title_fullStr | Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents |
| title_full_unstemmed | Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents |
| title_short | Peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents |
| title_sort | peritraumatic distress predicts prolonged grief disorder symptom severity after the death of a parent in children and adolescents |
| topic | peritraumatic distress peritraumatic dissociation complicated grief children and adolescents |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1936916 |
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