Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.

<h4>Background</h4>Increased understanding of the relationships between different symptom clusters involved in posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) could guide empirical research and clinical practice. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether hyperarousal and avoidan...

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Main Authors: Emma Hovén, Lisa Ljungman, Marike Boger, Brjánn Ljótsson, Nicola Silberleitner, Louise von Essen, Martin Cernvall
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155585&type=printable
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author Emma Hovén
Lisa Ljungman
Marike Boger
Brjánn Ljótsson
Nicola Silberleitner
Louise von Essen
Martin Cernvall
author_facet Emma Hovén
Lisa Ljungman
Marike Boger
Brjánn Ljótsson
Nicola Silberleitner
Louise von Essen
Martin Cernvall
author_sort Emma Hovén
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Increased understanding of the relationships between different symptom clusters involved in posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) could guide empirical research and clinical practice. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether hyperarousal and avoidance mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria in parents of children diagnosed with cancer.<h4>Methods</h4>Longitudinal data from parents of children receiving cancer therapy were used. PTSS were assessed using the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version at one week (T1), two (T2) and four months (T3) after diagnosis. Mediation analyses for multiple mediators were conducted for mothers (n = 122) and fathers (n = 121), respectively. The mediation model tested the assumption that the PTSS symptom clusters hyperarousal and avoidance mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria.<h4>Results</h4>For fathers, none of the hypothesized mediators were significant. For mothers, hyperarousal mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria, but avoidance did not.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Results suggest that hyperarousal is important for the development of dysphoria in mothers, supporting use of interventions targeting such symptoms in the early and ongoing period following the child's diagnosis.
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spelling doaj-art-350d4a67e00a43e2b5528f572b5fd4462025-08-20T02:15:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01115e015558510.1371/journal.pone.0155585Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.Emma HovénLisa LjungmanMarike BogerBrjánn LjótssonNicola SilberleitnerLouise von EssenMartin Cernvall<h4>Background</h4>Increased understanding of the relationships between different symptom clusters involved in posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) could guide empirical research and clinical practice. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether hyperarousal and avoidance mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria in parents of children diagnosed with cancer.<h4>Methods</h4>Longitudinal data from parents of children receiving cancer therapy were used. PTSS were assessed using the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version at one week (T1), two (T2) and four months (T3) after diagnosis. Mediation analyses for multiple mediators were conducted for mothers (n = 122) and fathers (n = 121), respectively. The mediation model tested the assumption that the PTSS symptom clusters hyperarousal and avoidance mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria.<h4>Results</h4>For fathers, none of the hypothesized mediators were significant. For mothers, hyperarousal mediated the relationship between re-experiencing and dysphoria, but avoidance did not.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Results suggest that hyperarousal is important for the development of dysphoria in mothers, supporting use of interventions targeting such symptoms in the early and ongoing period following the child's diagnosis.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155585&type=printable
spellingShingle Emma Hovén
Lisa Ljungman
Marike Boger
Brjánn Ljótsson
Nicola Silberleitner
Louise von Essen
Martin Cernvall
Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.
PLoS ONE
title Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.
title_full Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.
title_fullStr Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.
title_full_unstemmed Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.
title_short Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Cancer: Hyperarousal and Avoidance as Mediators of the Relationship between Re-Experiencing and Dysphoria.
title_sort posttraumatic stress in parents of children diagnosed with cancer hyperarousal and avoidance as mediators of the relationship between re experiencing and dysphoria
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155585&type=printable
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