Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe mental condition that occurs due to single or repeated traumatic situations. Its cause can be any strong experience that causes an overstrain of the human nervous system: military conflicts, abduction, fire, and beating. Many parents are far from ideal because of a false idea about raising children. It is important to understand the reasons that led to such an opinion and summarize the solution to the problems that have arisen. This study analyzes the answers of ten parents to questions about their parenting style.
This quiz is designed to help parents better understand their parenting style. For each item, they indicate how much they agree or disagree with the statement. Ten parents of Americans took part in the interview, 3 of whom were men. The people selected for the interview were my acquaintances or passers-by who voluntarily agreed to participate. During the interview, several statements are voiced, with which parents must agree or disagree, and explain why. This paper analyzes several of the answers and reveals the theme of parenting style and post-traumatic diseases in children.
Some of the interview questions:
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, how much do you believe that kids should make most of their own decisions without parental direction?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, how much do you believe that society would be better if parents were stricter with their kids?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, how much do you believe that kids need to learn early who the boss is in the family?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, how much do you believe that parents shouldn’t restrict children’s activities or decisions?
One of the most common and severe traumatic events for children, in most cases, is episodes of domestic violence. Teenagers can openly declare panic attacks – transient, spontaneous states with sudden feelings of fear and anxiety (Cloitre et al., 2021). The trigger can be anything – a word, a sound, a smell, an image, being in a certain space, or a touch. Such manifestations can be incredibly stable and persist for a long time (Cross et al., 2018). Difficulties in diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder are associated with the limited verbal capabilities of children and the tendency of parents to underestimate the symptoms of the child (Greene et al., 2020). The behavior of children suffering from post-traumatic syndrome is aimed at avoiding situations that actualize memories of trauma (De Young, Landolt, 2018). An example of a trigger is the creaking of brakes, the sound of a gunshot, and the smell of certain medications. Memories arise more often at night, rarely during the day; they are easier to bear.
During the interview, 6 out of 10 parents agreed with the first statement. On average, they answered the first question 4/10 because they believed that parents should be directly involved in the child’s decisions. The parents found it difficult to answer the second question, but the average score for the answer was 4/10. Male parents were more likely to believe that discipline improves society. The parents answered the third question positively because they were sure that the child should perceive their parents as the authority and be afraid of them. Only 2 out of 10 people answered the last question positively. Therefore, it can be concluded that in most families, the authoritarian type of upbringing prevails.
By way of conclusion, it is important to note that it is necessary to ensure maximum child involvement in social relations: school attendance, social meetings, sports clubs, and active family recreation. Passion for the present is important – meetings, studies, creativity, and achievements. If a child wants to discuss a difficult event, you cannot refuse, but it is worth talking about it as a past experience. It is possible to reduce the likelihood of post-traumatic syndrome through the correct organization of life.
References
Cloitre, M., Brewin, C. R., Kazlauskas, E., Lueger‐Schuster, B., Karatzias, T., Hyland, P., & Shevlin, M. (2021). Commentary: The need for research on PTSD in Children and adolescents–a commentary on Elliot et al. (2020). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 62(3), 277-279.
Cross, D., Vance, L. A., Kim, Y. J., Ruchard, A. L., Fox, N., Jovanovic, T., & Bradley, B. (2018). Trauma exposure, PTSD, and parenting in a community sample of low-income, predominantly African American mothers and children. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 10(3), 327.
De Young, A. C., & Landolt, M. A. (2018). PTSD in children below the age of 6 years. Current psychiatry reports, 20(11), 1-11.
Greene, C. A., McCarthy, K. J., Estabrook, R., Wakschlag, L. S., & Briggs-Gowan, M. J. (2020). Responsive parenting buffers the impact of maternal PTSD on young children.Parenting, 20(2), 141-165.