engleski

Parental Care and Overprotection as Predictors of Stress and Well-Being in Young Adults

The term secondary traumatization refers to the recently discovered phenomenon, according to which individuals do not have to experience trauma personally to develop stress-related symptoms and mental-health problems. Research shows that one can develop symptoms that mirror PTSD and related problems just by hearing about the traumas experienced by a loved one. War stress is a special form of trauma that can leave positive (e.g., resilience) and negative (e.g., PTSD) consequences. One clinical study revealed that adolescents whose fathers are Croatian war veterans suffering from PTSD have significantly higher rate of somatic difficulties, anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as a greater tendency for delinquent and aggressive behavior compared to adolescents whose fathers are Croatian war veterans, but are not suffering from PTSD. One study, which focused on wives of Croatian war veterans who suffer from PTSD, revealed that 36% of them also meet the criteria for secondary traumatic stress disorder. Given that both father and mother are important in the upbringing of a child and significantly affect his/her well- being and quality of life, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the levels of stress symptoms, quality of life and parental bonding among three groups of young adults (N = 82): children of war veterans suffering from PTSD, children of war veterans without PTSD, and children of non-veterans. Our results revealed significant associations between stress symptoms, quality of life and parental bonding (care and overprotection) among these three groups of young adults. However, we did not find evidence of secondary traumatization among children of Croatian war veterans. The results are discussed with reference to practical interventions taking into account parenting styles, stress, and quality of life of young adults.

parental care ; secondary traumatization ; well-being ; quality of life

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