PTSD and Parental Functioning: The Differential Protective Role of Community Engagement Among Black, White, and Hispanic Veterans

• In Event: Parenting After Trauma: Addressing the Effects of PTSD on the Family

Abstract

Parents with a history of trauma exposure may struggle to parent effectively, particularly when symptoms of PTSD are prominent. Consequently, identifying factors that buffer associations between trauma and parenting is critical to help trauma-exposed families thrive. One important source of resilience may spring from engagement in community organizations (e.g., political, religious, and/or cultural groups). Although understudied, there is some evidence that the protective effect of community engagement may be amplified among parents of color. The purpose of this study was to examine whether greater community engagement buffers associations between trauma, PTSD, and parental functioning among Black, White, and Hispanic Veterans. Participants were drawn from the Longitudinal Investigation of Gender, Health, and Trauma (LIGHT) study, a national study of veterans oversampled for residency in high crime zip codes. Non-Hispanic Black (n=200), non-Hispanic White (n=415), and Hispanic parents (n=107) completed surveys on lifetime trauma exposure, PTSD, and community engagement, followed by a survey on parental functioning four months later. PTSD mediated the association between trauma exposure and poor parental functioning among Black and White parents, controlling for income and crime level. Among Black parents only, greater community engagement buffered associations between lifetime trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms, as well as between PTSD symptoms and poorer parental functioning. Additionally, PTSD no longer mediated the association between trauma exposure and poor parental functioning among Black parents reporting average or high levels of community engagement. Greater engagement in community organizations may confer unique protective effects on the mental health and parental functioning of Black veterans.

Authors

• Molly Reis Franz, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
  Presenting Author

• Wesley Sanders, Massachusetts General Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Yael Nillni, National Center for PTSD Women's Health Sciences Division
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dawne Vogt, National Center for PTSD Women's Health Sciences Division
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tara Galovski, National Center for PTSD Women's Health Sciences Division
  Non-Presenting Author