Post-traumatic stress symptoms in parents of adolescents hospitalized with Anorexia nervosa

ABSTRACT

The current study was a planned secondary analysis to examine post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in parents of youth hospitalized for medical stabilization due to anorexia nervosa (AN). Questionnaires were administered to 47 parents (34 mothers, 13 fathers; 10 parental dyads) after admission; follow-up occurred at discharge and 4 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-discharge. PTSS were present in the majority of mothers (55.9%) and fathers (61.5%). PTSS were not associated with illness severity, but were associated with parental report of mood symptoms, avoidance, inflexibility, and symptom accommodation. Parental PTSS may negatively impact the adolescent rate of weight gain post-discharge. As hospitalization of a child for medical management of AN can be a traumatizing experience for parents, astute attention should be paid by medical staff to their needs. More work needs to be done to understand the impact of PTSS on parents of adolescents with AN.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Courtney Breiner and Leela Morrow for their assistance in the execution of this study and Natalia Orloff for providing feedback on revisions. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Anorexia nervosa is a condition with potentially life-threatening complications that can adversely impact every major organ system—including but not limited to cardiac arrhythmias, electrolyte imbalances, hypoglycemia, osteoporosis, gastroparesis, esophageal rupture, grey and white matter atrophy, hypogonadism, and hepatic enzyme elevations (Peebles & Sieke, 2019).

2. Trauma symptoms include, but are not limited to: distressing memories, psychological distress, self-blame, persistence of negative emotions (such as guilt or self-blame for the eating disorder), hypervigilance, sleep disturbance, avoidant behavior, irritability, problems with concentration, etc.(American Psychiatric Association, 2013). What symptoms are more common or more severe for parents of a child hospitalized for medical management of anorexia nervosas is currently unknown.

3. For this study, the directions read “Below is a list of difficulties people sometimes have after stressful life events. While answering this questionnaire please think about your child’s illness or recent hospitalization. Please read each item and indicate how distressing each difficulty has been for you during the past SEVEN days with respect to your child’s eating disorder.”

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Hilda and Preston Davis Foundation, ClinicalTrails.gov Identifier NCT02883413. The Foundation had no role in the design and conduct of this study. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Foundation.