This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Maternal PTSD increased risk for trauma, maltreatment in offspring

Mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder were more likely to experience parenting stress and their children were more frequently exposed to traumatic events and maltreatment, according to new study data.

“Clinicians should be aware that maternal PTSD is associated with an increased risk for child maltreatment and that the children have substantially more exposure to traumatic events,” Claude M. Chemtob, PhD, of NYU School of Medicine’s department of psychiatry, said in an interview. “This is important because recurrent trauma has been shown to predict poor adjustment in children and adults, so as the number of traumas increases, the likelihood for poor physical health, alcoholism and drug abuse are increased.”

 

Claude M. Chemtob

Chemtob and colleagues evaluated data from 97 mothers (median age, 22 to 30 years) with children aged 3 to 5 years during primary care pediatrician visitation. The mothers had a mean of 2.63 children and 54% were black, 39% Hispanic, 5% biracial, 1% Asian and 1% non-Hispanic white. Sixty-one percent of the mothers were single, whereas 34% were married and 5% were divorced or separated.

Researchers used the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale to assess for the mothers’ previous exposure to trauma and symptoms of PTSD, whereas the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale evaluated for depression. Results indicated that 11% of the mothers were depressed, 6% had PTSD and 10% were both depressed and had PTSD.

Mothers with comorbid PTSD and depression were found to have the highest levels of parenting stress (P<.001).

Maltreatment of the children was evaluated with the Conflict Tactics Scale. Compared with mothers without depression or PTSD, comorbid mothers reported increased instances of physical (P=.03) and psychological (P=.04) aggression toward their children. Mothers with PTSD also reported higher levels of psychological aggression (P=.001).

Researchers found maternal depression increased the likelihood of child physical abuse (P=.01) and neglect (P=.02), whereas severe PTSD (P=.03) and depression (P=.03) were predictors for psychological aggression.

The Traumatic Events Screening Inventory-Parent Report Revised evaluated for exposure to natural disasters, hospitalizations, domestic and community violence, and physical and sexual abuse. Children of mothers with PTSD were exposed to a mean of five traumatic events in the first 5 years of life, which was significantly higher than 1.43 traumatic events in children of mothers without any disorder (P<.001) and 1.18 events in children of mothers with depression.

Researchers found maternal PTSD was a predictor for offspring exposure to traumatic events (P<.001). However, increased depression in mothers with severe PTSD decreased the risk for children exposure to trauma (P<.001), with children of comorbid mothers exposed to a mean of 3.5 traumatic events.

“It’s important to have routine PTSD screening of mothers in pediatric primary care clinics,” Chemtob said. “As those clinics improve their ability to identify mothers with PTSD and link up those mothers with treatment, the hope is that you would thereby reduce, or even prevent, maltreatment while also reducing the tendency for the children to be exposed to multiple traumatic events.”

Disclosure: Researchers report funding from the United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York.