The prevalence of PTSD following the violent death of a child and predictors of change 5 years later

Shirley A. Murphy, L. Clark Johnson, Ick Joong Chung, Randal D. Beaton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

121 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we examined the violent death bereavement trajectories of 173 parents by following them prospectively for 5 years after their children's deaths by accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined causes. Using latent growth curve methodology, we examined how the initial level of PTSD and the rate of change over time were influenced by 9 predictors: the deceased children's causes of death, parents' gender, self-esteem, 3 coping strategies, perceived social support, concurrent levels of mental distress, and an intervention offered in early bereavement. Six of the nine factors predicted initial levels of PTSD; however, only parents' gender and perceived social support predicted change in PTSD over the 5-year time frame. Five years postdeath, 3 times as many study mothers (27.7%) met diagnostic criteria for PTSD and twice as many study fathers (12.5%) met diagnostic criteria for PTSD compared with the normative samples.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17-25
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Traumatic Stress
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2003

Keywords

  • Accident
  • Bereaved parents
  • Bereaved parents' long-term outcomes
  • Homicide
  • LGM
  • Latent growth curve modeling
  • Suicide
  • Violent death bereavement

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