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Parental coping in the neonatal intensive care unit. Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings Shaw, R. J., Bernard, R. S., Storfer-Isser, A., Rhine, W., Horwitz, S. M. 2013; 20 (2): 135-142

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.

View details for DOI 10.1007/s10880-012-9328-x

View details for PubMedID 22990746

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3578086