Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition characterized by symptoms such as traumatic intrusions, avoidance, changes in mood and cognition, and changes in arousal and emotional reactivity. In young children, these symptoms may manifest through play that relives aspects of the traumatic event or in disturbing dreams. This study explores how risk and protective factors in the family environment may influence this association, with a particular focus on the impact of maternal trauma on the development of symptoms in their young children.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that arises after experiencing or witnessing extremely traumatic events, such as violence, disasters or war. It is characterized by symptoms such as flashbacks (intense reliving of the trauma), avoidance of situations associated with the event, changes in mood and heightened reactivity, such as being on constant alert.
In adults, PTSD can be devastating, but its effects can also extend to children in the family. Studies show that young children often reflect their traumas in repetitive play or nightmares.
In addition, science has shown a link between PTSD in parents and in children, but there is still much to understand about the mechanisms that explain this relationship.
This study, conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, focused on investigating how mothers who face PTSD influence their children and whether there are factors that can protect children from this negative influence.
The study sought to explore the role of maternal executive functions (EFs), which are complex cognitive skills responsible for self-regulation, such as working memory, impulse control and mental flexibility. Researchers believe that these functions can help mothers better cope with stress, creating a more protective environment for their children.
The study was conducted with 131 mothers living in a conflict region in southern Israel, where the risk of exposure to traumatic events is high. All were pregnant for the second time and had at least one young child.
The mothers were assessed on three main aspects: (1) Level of Maternal PTSD: Mothers reported their own PTSD symptoms, such as flashbacks or feelings of extreme fear. (2) Childhood PTSD: They also answered questions about their children’s behaviors, such as signs of anxiety or trauma-related play. (3) Maternal Executive Functions: Mothers’ cognitive abilities were assessed using computerized tests.
A specific skill called “working memory updating” was highlighted. It measures the ability to store and adjust information as needed, something that is crucial for coping with stress and making decisions in difficult situations.
In addition, the researchers analyzed the level of threat to which each family was exposed. This ranged from direct events, such as attacks, to living in an environment of continuous high stress.
The results of the study confirmed that there is indeed a link between mothers’ PTSD and their children’s. In other words, the more severe the mother’s PTSD, the greater the chances that the child will also present symptoms. However, this relationship was modulated by two factors: maternal working memory updating and the level of threat.
Mothers with better working memory skills demonstrated a protective effect. They were able to cushion the impact of their own traumas on their children, even in high-threat situations. Mothers with reduced working memory skills, on the other hand, showed a stronger correlation between their symptoms and those of their children, especially when exposed to contexts of greater danger.
In high-threat environments, however, the influence of maternal PTSD on children’s PTSD was more evident among mothers with limited cognitive abilities. On the other hand, for mothers with good self-regulation skills, the level of threat did not have a significant impact on the relationship between their PTSD symptoms and those of their children.
These findings suggest that effective executive functions help mothers better cope with stress, allowing them to protect their children from experiencing the same psychological impacts.
This study highlights a crucial point: mothers’ mental health affects not only them, but also their children. However, there are factors that can act as a “protective shield” for children, and mothers’ executive functions are one of them.
Skills such as working memory and self-regulation help mothers to respond more positively to stress and create a safer family environment, even in difficult situations. Furthermore, these skills can be developed or strengthened through psychological interventions and training programs.
This work paves the way for new strategies to support families exposed to trauma, especially in conflict contexts. By improving mothers’ executive functions, it may be possible to reduce the intergenerational effects of PTSD.
The research also raises important questions: do these findings apply to parents in other contexts? And how exactly can executive functions be worked on to provide protection against the impact of trauma?
Understanding these issues is essential to developing policies and programs that protect families in situations of risk, ensuring a healthier future for children and adults.
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The association between maternal and child posttraumatic stress symptoms among families living in southern Israel: The buffering role of maternal executive functions
Michal Levy, Tal Yatziv, Kinneret Levavi, Porat Yakov, Alison Pike, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Amnon Hadar, Guy Bar, Miron Froimovici, Naama Atzaba-Poria
Stress & Health. Volume 40, Issue5. October 2024. e3456
Abstract:
Posttraumatic stress disorder is a prolonged stress and anxiety response that occurs after exposure to a traumatic event. Research shows that both parental and child posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are correlated but parental executive functions (EFs) could buffer this link. EFs refers to a group of high-level cognitive processes that enable self-regulation of thoughts and actions to achieve goal-directed behaviours and can be of importance for both positive parenting interactions and effective coping skills for PTSS. Our study aimed to (1) examine the link between maternal and child PTSS and the moderating role of varying degrees of exposure to severe security threats context, and (2) to identify the moderating role of maternal EFs in this interaction, among families living in southern Israel. Our sample included 131 mothers in their second pregnancy and their firstborn children. Mothers performed computerised tasks to assess their EFs and they reported on their own and their child's PTSS. Results revealed a positive correlation between maternal PTSS and child PTSS. However, the link between maternal and child PTSS was moderated by maternal working memory updating abilities and threat context severity. Among mothers with lower updating capacities, the association between maternal and child symptoms was stronger under higher threat contexts; conversely, among mothers with higher maternal updating abilities, threat context did not modulate the link between maternal and child PTSS, suggesting a stress-buffering effect. Our study contributes to the growing literature on the significant role of parental EFs in the context of parent-child interactions.
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