Mothers with a history of trauma and their children: a systematic review of treatment interventions.

Introduction: Mothers with a history of trauma frequently face significant challenges in their relationships with their children. Therefore, it is crucial for trauma-exposed mothers and their young children to receive adequate trauma-informed treatment. This review aimed to examine the effects of trauma-informed interventions on improving the mother-child relationship among mothers with a history of trauma and their young children under 6 years old. Methods: The study analyzed 15 articles that met the eligibility criteria, encompassing a sample size of 1,321 mothers. The systematic GRADE approach was used to rate the certainty of evidence in this systematic review. Results: The study found that while some interventions demonstrated small to large effects, the quality of evidence was only moderate. The most promising interventions were Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), and Maternal Empowerment Program (MEP), which all included elements of psychotherapy, psychoeducation, and skills training. Discussion: The study underscores the importance of understanding the needs of mother-child dyads affected by trauma and tailoring interventions to meet those needs. Overall, the literature suggests that interventions combining psychotherapeutic, psychoeducational, and skills-training components are most effective in improving mother and child-related outcomes for mothers with a history of trauma and their young children. The review provides recommendations for future research and emphasizes the importance of considering the mother-child relationship in trauma-informed interventions.

Stronger together: the longitudinal relations between partner responsiveness, dyadic coping and PTSD recovery.

Background: Past research has primarily focused on negative associations between PTSD and relationships. Therefore, this investigation delves into the potential positive role of these relational aspects in aiding PTSD recovery during treatment.Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of dyadic coping and perceived partner responsiveness on treatment trajectories of PTSD patients.Method: The study included 90 participants, who were requested to complete online questionnaires twice, with a six-month gap between the measures.Results: The results from linear regression analyses indicated that perceived partner responsiveness had a positive effect on PTSD recovery, whereas dyadic coping had the opposite effect: higher levels of dyadic coping were associated with an increase in posttraumatic stress symptoms over time. Additional examination of the subscales indicated that heightened communication between clients and partners regarding stress was related with increased posttraumatic stress symptoms.Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance and complexity of effective and supportive communication between patients with PTSD and their partners. While existing literature supports both perceived partner responsiveness and dyadic coping as beneficial, this study indicates that only perceived partner responsiveness positively impacted PTSD recovery.

Perceived Partner Responsiveness and PTSD Recovery: the study reveals a significant positive impact of perceived partner responsiveness on PTSD recovery. Patients perceiving higher levels of understanding from their romantic partners experience enhanced recovery, possibly through increased social support and the development of new self-narratives.Dyadic Coping and PTSD Recovery: contrary to expectations, aspects of dyadic coping, particularly stress communication, were found to hinder PTSD recovery. Unhelpful disclosure and problematic interpersonal dynamics in discussing trauma within the relationship seemed to limit recovery, indicating the nuanced nature of communication's role in PTSD recovery.

On the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and posttraumatic stress symptoms during treatment: A test of reciprocity.

Positive associations between difficulties in emotion regulation and PTSD symptom severity have been consistently found in the literature. Little is known whether these associations are the result of reciprocal effects between the two constructs. This study investigated the reciprocal relationship between post-traumatic stress symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties. The study used a longitudinal design with two time points. The sample consisted of 293 patients who were all in treatment for PTSD. We estimated the cross-lagged panel model with latent variables. The results showed a significant cross-lagged effect of emotion regulation difficulties on post-traumatic stress symptoms. This finding highlights that emotion regulation difficulties play a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of post-traumatic stress. Therefore, exploring emotion regulation difficulties early on in treatment may support the effectiveness of trauma-focused interventions.

Youth Perceived Social Support and Symptom Distress: A Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model.

Although social support and mental health associations have been extensively investigated, their reciprocal relations in vulnerable youth remain understudied. This study investigated the relations between perceived social support and symptom distress over time whilst differentiating between support from caregivers and significant others. The sample included 257 youth (79% self-identified women, Mage = 19.2, SD = 2.5) who were receiving mental health treatment. Using a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model, results revealed no significant concurrent associations, between-person effects, or cross-lagged effects. The autoregressive effects suggested that perceived social support from caregivers was relatively stable over time, while symptom distress and support from a significant other were not. In all, this study challenged the validity of the social causation and social erosion models in the context of perceived social support and symptom distress among vulnerable youth, revealing an absence of significant reciprocal associations. The stable nature of perceived social support from caregivers compared to support from significant others was highlighted. The study design, hypotheses, and target analyses were preregistered under https://osf.io/f4qpg .