A BROKEN HEART: THE IMPACT OF PEDIATRIC OPEN HEART SURGERY ON PARENTS' WELLBEING AND PARENTING

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McWhorter, L. (2018). A BROKEN HEART: THE IMPACT OF PEDIATRIC OPEN HEART SURGERY ON PARENTS' WELLBEING AND PARENTING. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

According to the pediatric medical traumatic stress model, pediatric medicalexperiences can create posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in pediatric patients and intheir parents and siblings. While the impact of traumatic medical experiences has beenstudied in parents of children with a variety of pediatric conditions, little is known abouthow the resulting PTSS may affect parenting. The relational PTSD model suggests thatsuboptimal parenting patterns can result from parental PTSS. One condition with highpotential for traumatic medical events is critical congenital heart disease (CHD), whichrequires open heart surgery during infancy. This qualitative study examined theexperience of parental PTSS and parenting in a sample of parents (N=12; 4 fathers, 8mothers) of children with critical CHD. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis,focus group data were analyzed to determine 1) the ways in which CHD has affectedparents’ lives; 2) the parents’ experience of PTSS related to CHD; 3) parenting patterns;and 4) the relationships between parental PTSS and parenting patterns. The followingthemes emerged: seeking/receiving social support, giving back, positive changes,overprotective and permissive parenting, and lasting effects of the traumatic medicalexperiences. Parents reported experiencing PTSS from all four PTSD symptom clusters.In addition, vicarious trauma and continuous traumatic stress were reported. Parents reportedparenting patterns of overprotection and permissiveness; overprotection was suggested bythe relational PTSD model. Finally, parenting a child with CHD was found to be agendered experience, with fathers and mothers reporting different experiences on avariety of themes. Clinical considerations include the importance of parent to parentsupport, the different experiences of fathers and mothers, and the need to screen for PTSSamong parents of children with CHD. Future research should consider quantitativestudies with larger samples to assess the relationship between PTSD and parenting in thispopulation.

Details
Author

McWhorter, Linda

Title

A BROKEN HEART: THE IMPACT OF PEDIATRIC OPEN HEART SURGERY ON PARENTS' WELLBEING AND PARENTING

Physical Description

1 online resource (166 pages) : PDF

Date

2018

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

According to the pediatric medical traumatic stress model, pediatric medicalexperiences can create posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in pediatric patients and intheir parents and siblings. While the impact of traumatic medical experiences has beenstudied in parents of children with a variety of pediatric conditions, little is known abouthow the resulting PTSS may affect parenting. The relational PTSD model suggests thatsuboptimal parenting patterns can result from parental PTSS. One condition with highpotential for traumatic medical events is critical congenital heart disease (CHD), whichrequires open heart surgery during infancy. This qualitative study examined theexperience of parental PTSS and parenting in a sample of parents (N=12; 4 fathers, 8mothers) of children with critical CHD. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis,focus group data were analyzed to determine 1) the ways in which CHD has affectedparents’ lives; 2) the parents’ experience of PTSS related to CHD; 3) parenting patterns;and 4) the relationships between parental PTSS and parenting patterns. The followingthemes emerged: seeking/receiving social support, giving back, positive changes,overprotective and permissive parenting, and lasting effects of the traumatic medicalexperiences. Parents reported experiencing PTSS from all four PTSD symptom clusters.In addition, vicarious trauma and continuous traumatic stress were reported. Parents reportedparenting patterns of overprotection and permissiveness; overprotection was suggested bythe relational PTSD model. Finally, parenting a child with CHD was found to be agendered experience, with fathers and mothers reporting different experiences on avariety of themes. Clinical considerations include the importance of parent to parentsupport, the different experiences of fathers and mothers, and the need to screen for PTSSamong parents of children with CHD. Future research should consider quantitativestudies with larger samples to assess the relationship between PTSD and parenting in thispopulation.

Genre

doctoral dissertations

Subjects--Topics

Psychology

Degree

Ph.D.

Keywords

Congenital Heart Disease
Parental Ptsd
Parenting
Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress
Posttraumatic Growth
Qualitative

Subject Area

Health Psychology

Advisor(s)

Portwood, Sharon

Committee Members

Peterman, Amy
Issel, Michele
Boyd, A. Suzanne

Degree Note

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2018.

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Rights Holder Information

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Identifier

McWhorter_uncc_0694D_11611

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:678