Posttraumatic stress symptoms in parentally bereaved children and adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To compare parentally bereaved children with a disaster comparison group and a nontrauma control group on measures of emotional adjustment.


METHODS
Children and adolescents who had lost a parent (n = 39), had experienced a tornado disaster (n = 69), or were coping with an ongoing social or academic stressor (n = 118) completed measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Risk factors for symptoms among the bereaved children also were evaluated.


RESULTS
Parentally bereaved children reported significantly more PTSD symptoms than the disaster and nontrauma control groups. Among the bereaved children, girls, younger children, and children living with a surviving parent who scored high on a measure of posttraumatic stress reported more symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Children and adolescents who have lost a parent could be vulnerable to PTSD symptoms.
Stoppelbein
L
L
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487-0348, USA. legreeni@gp.as.ua.edu
Greening
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001601:Bereavement; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*