The mutual influence of parent-child maladaptive emotion regulation on posttraumatic stress following flood exposure.

Decades of disaster research support the influence parents have on their children's adaptation. Recently, research has shifted to focus on disasters as a whole family experience. Using the actor-partner interdependence model, this study examines maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in parents and children and how these strategies influence their own and one another's posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The present study includes 485 parent-child dyads who experienced the 2015-2016 Texas floods. The majority of parents identified as mothers (66.3%), with a male child (52.8%) whose average age was 13.75 years. Mplus was used to identify the models and evaluate differences between each cognitive emotion regulation strategy across parent-child dyads in the high disaster exposure group compared to all other levels of exposure (other-exposure). Odds ratios examined differences not captured by the actor-partner interdependence model. Support for interdependence was found for the other-exposure group, suggesting parents and children mutually influence each other's PTSS by their own cognitive emotion regulation. No interdependence was found in the high-exposure group. However, high-exposure child actor effects were found for self-blame and other-blame, and child partner effects were only found for self-blame. Parent actor effects were only significant for catastrophizing and parent partner effects for catastrophizing and rumination. Odds ratios for the high-exposure group found that only child self-blame influenced parent PTSS, and only parent rumination and catastrophizing influenced child PTSS. Implications for supporting families after disasters are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Coping self-efficacy mediates effects of posttraumatic distress on communal coping in parent-adolescence dyads after floods.

Social cognitive theory provides a framework of human agency during environmental challenges, with coping self-efficacy (CSE) as an important construct underlying adaptation. We examined two alternative models involving CSE as a mediator of the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and communal coping among parent-youth dyads after severe floods using Bayesian dyadic multilevel modeling. The first model included PTSS as the independent variable and communal coping as the dependent variable (disaster distress model). The independent and dependent variables were replaced for each other in the second model (communal coping model). We used data from 485 parent-youth dyads who experienced floods between 2015 and 2016 in Texas, USA. Parents of children (69% women) aged 10-19 years old, and their oldest child (53% male; Mean age = 13.75) in that age range were recruited. We assessed PTSS, CSE, and communal coping for parents and youths. Results favored the disaster distress model over the communal coping model. In the disaster distress model, results demonstrated that CSE declines as PTSS increases, predicting decreased communal coping. This mediation effect of CSE is stronger for youths compared to parents, indicating that children's CSE is affected more by PTSS.

Using Virtual Reality to Improve the Quality of Life of Older Adults with Cognitive Impairments and their Family Members who Live at a Distance.

This study examines whether using virtual reality (VR) with older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild to moderate dementia with a family member who lives at a distance can improve the quality of life of the older adult and the family member. Twenty-one older adults in a senior living community and a family member (who participated in the VR with the older adult from a distance) engaged in a baseline telephone call, followed by three weekly VR sessions. The VR was associated with improvements in older adults' affect and stress, relationship with their family member, and overall quality of life, compared to baseline. Family members' negative affect, depressive symptoms, and caregiver burden also decreased and their mental health improved after using the VR, compared to baseline. Using the VR, however, did not change their relationship with the older adult. In addition, older adults and family members who experienced the VR sessions as more socially engaging reported better psychological and relational well-being, with older adults also experiencing greater improvements in overall quality of life. Finally, preliminary results suggest that older adults with dementia and their family members might benefit even more from using the VR than older adults with MCI and their family members.

Testing the Feasibility of Virtual Reality With Older Adults With Cognitive Impairments and Their Family Members Who Live at a Distance.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study tests the feasibility of using virtual reality (VR) with older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild-to-moderate dementia with a family member who lives at a distance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: 21 residents in a senior living community and a family member (who participated in the VR with the older adult from a distance) engaged in a baseline telephone call, followed by 3 weekly VR sessions. RESULTS: Residents and family members alike found the VR safe, extremely enjoyable, and easy to use. The VR was also acceptable and highly satisfying for residents with MCI and dementia. Human and automated coding revealed that residents were more conversationally and behaviorally engaged with their family member in the VR sessions compared to the baseline telephone call and in the VR sessions that used reminiscence therapy. The results also illustrate the importance of using multiple methods to assess engagement. Residents with dementia reported greater immersion in the VR than residents with MCI. However, the automated coding indicated that residents with MCI were more kinesically engaged while using the VR than residents with dementia. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Combining networking and livestreaming features in a single VR platform can allow older adults in senior living communities to still travel, relive their past, and engage fully with life with their family members, despite geographical separation and physical and cognitive challenges.

Why Family Communication Matters: the Role of Co-rumination and Topic Avoidance in Understanding Post-Disaster Mental Health.

Although families can be a source of support post-disaster, depending on how they communicate about their stress, their attempts at support can be helpful or harmful. This study explored the moderating role of topic avoidance and co-rumination on post-disaster mental health (MH) in a sample of 485 parent-child dyads following severe floods affecting Texas. Parents (69.0% female) and their oldest child between the ages of 10-19 years (M = 13.75 years, SD = 2.56) completed online surveys approximately one-year post-flooding. Participants reported their flood exposure, life stressors since the disaster, topic avoidance, co-rumination, and MH symptoms (posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS], depression, anxiety). Structural equation models tested a moderated-mediation model of whether communication processes moderated the associations of flood exposure and life stressors on MH. They did not moderate the association of flood exposure to PTSS, but did have a moderating role for depression and anxiety. At low levels of topic avoidance, there was no association between flood exposure and child anxiety or depression. However, at mean and high levels of topic avoidance, there was a significant, positive association between flood exposure and child anxiety and depression. Co-rumination impacted both parents and children. For parents, there was no association between flood exposure and depression or anxiety when co-rumination was low or mean-level. However, flood exposure increased risk for depression and anxiety at high levels of co-rumination. A similar pattern emerged for children. Results for life stressors were nuanced. Overall, this suggests that communication can influence post-disaster MH.

Parents' relationship maintenance as a buffer for the stress of their adolescent's type 1 diabetes.

Having an adolescent with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) can be stressful for the entire family. This study examined the impact of parents' relationship maintenance on their ability to manage the conflict associated with their child's T1D, the parents' physiological health (inflammation), and the relationships within the family. Sixty couples and their adolescent children with T1D participated. The couples engaged in a stressful conversation about their child's T1D in their home, followed by random assignment to a 2-week intervention designed to increase the relationship maintenance in the marriage. Results from the home visit revealed that when husbands and wives received greater maintenance from each other the past month, they perceived less conflict when talking about their adolescent's T1D, which was associated with less relational load and lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). For wives, greater relationship maintenance was also directly associated with less relational load and lower CRP levels. In addition, the relationship maintenance received was directly and positively associated with parent-child relationship quality for fathers, but this association was mediated by interparental conflict for mothers. Finally, the 2-week intervention reduced parents' relational load and the number of stressful conversations and improved the mother-adolescent relationship but did not significantly reduce parents' CRP. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The relative impacts of disclosure and secrecy: the role of (perceived) target response.

This review examines the current trends in understanding the impact of individuals' decisions to either disclose information or continue to conceal it. As a whole, the evidence points to a relative benefit of disclosure over secret-keeping, but with clear cases, in which disclosure may be harmful. Advances in knowledge about factors that shape that impact, new research on the role verbal rumination with a partner following disclosure, and attention to the role of communal coping as an outcome of traumatic disclosures are addressed. In addition, recent re-conceptualization of secret-keeping, and investigations into the burden experienced by confidants are reviewed. Finally, a call for greater attention to the culture-specific impacts of disclosure decisions is made.

Testing the Theory of Resilience and Relational Load (TRRL) in Families with Type I Diabetes.

The theory of resilience and relational load was tested with 60 couples and their adolescent children (ages 11-18) with type I diabetes (T1D). The couples participated in a stress-inducing conversation task in their home, followed by a random assignment to a two-week intervention designed to increase their relationship maintenance. Before the intervention, stronger communal orientation predicted greater maintenance for husbands and wives, but maintenance only reduced T1D stress for wives. The wives' and adolescents' T1D stress were also correlated, but the husbands' T1D stress was not significantly associated with either of them. Better maintenance was associated with less conflict during couples' conversations. Maintenance was also directly associated with less perceived and physiological stress (cortisol) from the conversation. Finally, wives in the intervention reported the most thriving, communal orientation and the least loneliness. The intervention also reduced adolescents' general life stress, but it did not influence their T1D stress or thriving.

The Functionality of Communal Coping in Chronic Uncertainty Environments: The Context of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon.

Most research suggests that communal coping, where a group of people own and act upon a shared stressor or uncertainty together, enhances mental health and fosters coping efficacy. The majority of this research, however, has been conducted in the United States in contexts where stress and uncertainty are relatively short-lived and with samples that are economically secure and moderately to highly educated. The purpose of this study was to understand how socio-emotional conditions, such as exposure to trauma and interparental conflict, influence the functionality of communal coping for adolescents in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, where chronic uncertainty is normative. One hundred eighty-five Palestinian adolescents (M age = 15.75) residing in two refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon completed a cross-sectional survey. The results showed that communal coping with immediate family members was only beneficial for adolescents' mental health and hopelessness when their parents had moderate to little conflict and not high levels of conflict. Similarly, when adolescents had experienced trauma, engaging in high levels of communal coping accentuated, as opposed to buffered, the harmful effects of uncertainty on mental health.

Family functioning and posttraumatic growth among parents and youth following wildfire disasters.

A conceptual model was used to investigate how demographic characteristics, perceived fire stress, aspects of the recovery environment (life stressors since the disaster, social support), mental health, and coping influences parent and youth reports of family functioning and posttraumatic growth (PTG) following multiple wildfires. Participants included 50 parent-youth dyads (M = 14.5 years) who had been evacuated because of the fire, many of whom had homes that were damaged (60%) or destroyed (30%). For youth, younger age, being female, greater fire stress, more life stressors, and those using more positive reappraisal coping reported greater PTG. For parents, family type and perceived fire stress were positively related to PTG, and positive reappraisal approached significance. For family functioning, only the youth model was significant. Younger age and more life stressors were negatively related, and positive reappraisal coping was positively related, to family functioning. Overall, the results support the important role of positive reappraisal in postdisaster outcomes.

Uncertainty and control in the context of a category-five tornado.

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to illuminate the experience and management of uncertainty during a natural disaster. Interviews were conducted with 26 survivors of a category-five tornado that entirely demolished the small, rural town of Greensburg, Kansas. Three primary themes were found in the survivors' accounts. First, the survivors experienced rapidly shifting levels and kinds of uncertainty as they proceeded through the stages of the disaster. Second, the fluidity of much-needed information added to uncertainty. Third, the feeling of lack of control over outcomes of the disaster and its aftermath was pervasive and was often managed through reliance on communal coping. Recommendations for disaster-related intervention programs are suggested.

The relative impacts of uncertainty and mothers' communication on hopelessness among Palestinian refugee youth.

The life of adolescent refugees has been described as uncertainty laden. Yet no quantitative data exist to elucidate that experience of uncertainty, investigate its implications in that population, or explore potential moderators. This study applies the Entropy Model of Uncertainty (Hirsh, Mar, & Peterson, 2012) and the stress-buffering hypothesis (for review, see Hegelson, 2003) to examine the experience of uncertainty among adolescent Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon. It then tests the role of mothers' uncertainty-related communication for adolescent hopelessness. One hundred and sixty-two adolescents across 2 refugee camps in Lebanon participated in the study. Results support the existence of elevated levels of uncertainty about both personal and macrosecurity, show an association between uncertainty regarding personal security and levels of hopelessness, and suggest that uncertainty's negative impact may overwhelm the role of mothers' supportive communication as a buffer against hopelessness. Interestingly, the data also suggest surprisingly little hopelessness in this population.

The impact of uncertainty and communal coping on mental health following natural disasters.

Feelings of uncertainty are a central feature of the disaster experience. Surprisingly, though, there is very little systematic quantitative research about the impact of uncertainty on disaster survivors. Moreover, communal coping has increasingly received attention as a potential buffer of the negative effects of stressors but that literature is also limited in its application to disasters. This investigation applies research in the domain of uncertainty, together with the Theoretical Model of Communal Coping to better understand the experience of a community exposed to three wildfires in a one year period. A random-digit dialing procedure was used to gather data from 402 individuals. Participants completed measures of mental health, uncertainty, and communal coping in the context of their experience with the most personally stressful of the three wildfires. All analyses were examined separately for those who were evacuated and those who were not. Results support the negative impact of uncertainty across both evacuated and nonevacuated sub-samples and show a strong buffering role for communal coping among those who evacuated. The implications of these findings for the understanding of wildfire survivors' experiences are noted and future directions are proposed.