Sheltering: A protective parental response to children exposed to traum

Research that examines parental behaviors as the first response to an extreme traumatic stressor experienced by school-aged children residing in areas impacted by natural disasters is limited. Following a natural disaster in which the community infrastructure is damaged or destroyed and community service delivery is disrupted, parental response is the first protective response that may buffer the impact of trauma in school aged children. Research that focuses on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in school-aged children is critically important following the recent aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The purpose of this research pursuit was to provide a conceptual framework for the term sheltering; six parental practices that serve as the first protective response to school-aged children exposed to an extreme traumatic stressor. The term sheltering has not been used in previous research pursuits, and was chosen for usage due to its descriptive value. Sheltering is considered protective, because it may buffer the negative effects of psychological stress in school-aged children, and externalizing behaviors associated with Post Traumatic Disorder resulting from exposure to a traumatic stressor. Within this study, sheltering strictly accounts for parental behaviors as influencing factors in the reduction of PTSD symptoms in school-aged children. However, sheltering may serve as a pathway to resilience, because sheltering practices may lead to improved adjustment in school-aged children following exposure to a traumatic stressor. Sheltering may also have implications as a tool for parenting skills training, but does not account for a wide range of issues relevant to parent child interactions that are addressed over a predetermined period of time. Sheltering is comprised of the following six parental behaviors: daily parental monitoring or supervision, family rituals, open communication, active facilitation of extracurricular activities at school, joint leisure activities, and parental involvement with the child's school In this study, the relationships between sheltering and both, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder reaction scores and distress were examined in 42 school-aged children impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Results suggested that sheltering was not associated with PTSD reaction scores and distress in children. Resilience in the child population may have been a significant factor in the findings of this study.