‘Life should go on’: a qualitative inquiry of parental reactions, experiences, and perceived needs following adolescents’ recent traumatic exposure

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the children.

	No. of children (n = 25)
Girls	16
Age (years), range (mean)	11–16 (14.7)
Type of traumatic event
Sexual violence or assault	17
Community or school violence	4
Serious accident	2
Sudden loss of a loved one	2
Mental health follow-up before traumatic exposure
ADHD	5
Anxiety disorder	2
Depressive disorder	0
Emotional difficulties and emotional dysregulation	1
Behavioural disorder	1
French nationality	21
Time since child’s traumatic exposure
0–1 month	2
1–2 months	10
2–3 months	13
No. of siblings
0	2
1	14
2	7
3	2
Situation of parents
Married and/or living together	18
Separated and/or divorced	7

Note: ADHD = attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Table 2. Emergent themes and subthemes extracted from the interviews with parents.

Theme		Subthemes	Frequency
1	Identifying the child’s behavioural and emotional changes following the traumatic exposure	Difficulties with emotion regulation	All participants
		Hypervigilance state	26/34
		Withdrawal	23/34
2	Experiencing shame, emotional distress, and a negative impact on the parent–child relationship	Dealing with guilt, shame, and feelings of parental inadequacy	25/34
		Impact on the parent–child relationship: increased conflict	22/34
		Remembering earlier personal experiences	13/34
3	Struggling to understand trauma	Questioning social role after trauma	15/34
		Stigma around the victim label and social isolation	25/34
4	Struggling with the child’s school refusal and lack of school collaboration	School avoidance	29/34
		Perceived lack of appropriate support and collaboration from the school	27/34
5	Resorting to avoidance to deal with conflicting needs and demands	Avoiding discussing the traumatic event with the child	22/34
		Avoiding facing new challenges: pressure to keep the normal house and school routines	23/34
6	Finding ways to cope	Dealing with the present situation and needs: ‘One thing at a time’	12/34
		Risk of overaccommodation	5/34
		Restoring a sense of agency	6/34
		Seeking help from family, friends, and professionals	9/34

Figure 1. Themes and subthemes related to family consequences of traumatic exposure and avoidance as parental response.

Figure 2. Conceptual model for practical early post-traumatic interventions to promote adaptive parental responses.