title: Parental coping in the neonatal intensive care unit.
abstract: Fifty-six mothers of premature infants who participated in a study to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) completed the Brief COPE, a self-report inventory of coping mechanisms, the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire to assess acute stress disorder (ASD) and the Davidson Trauma Scale to assess PTSD. 18 % of mothers had baseline ASD while 30 % of mothers met the criteria for PTSD at the 1-month follow-up. Dysfunctional coping as measured by the Brief COPE was positively associated with elevated risk of PTSD in these mothers (RR = 1.09, 95 % CI 1.02-1.15; p = .008). Maternal education was positively associated with PTSD; each year increase in education was associated with a 17 % increase in the relative risk of PTSD at 1 month follow-up (RR = 1.17, 95 % CI 1.02-1.35; p = .03). Results suggest that dysfunctional coping is an important issue to consider in the development of PTSD in parents of premature infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA 94305-5719, USA. rjshaw@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Rebecca S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Storfer-Isser
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rhine
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Horwitz
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology