PHENOMENOLOGY OF TRAUMATIC STRESS OF “NORMOTYPICAL” PARENTS AND POST-TRAUMATIC SYMPTOMSCTIVITY

Aim. The present study explored the subjective picture of traumatic events in parenting life. The study examined its characteristics during different periods of the child’s life and investigated the likelihood and content of parental post-traumatic stress (PTS). Materials and Methods. The research sample consisted of 89 participants. All participants had one to four children over the age of 20. The average age of the participants was 49,56 years (SD=6,8). A semi-structured interview method developed by the author was used. This method allowed for a retrospective examination of traumatic stress events in parenting life. Techniques such as “Lifeline”, scaling, and “stress thermometer” were included. The scale for assessing the impact of traumatic events (D.S. Weiss, C.R. Marmar, and T.J. Metzler, adapted by N.V. Tarabrina) was also utilized. Results and Conclusions. A typology of traumatic stressors in parenting life was proposed, and their phenomenology was described. The majority of stressors were associated with threats to the health or life of the child at an early age. In the preschool and adolescent periods of the child’s development, behavioral and emotional problems of the children become traumatic stressors for parents. Emotional disorders, particularly anxiety, predominated in the manifestations of traumatic stress in parents. Some parents who reported traumatic events (n=56) indicated the presence of PTS symptoms. 19% of parents noted a high intensity of these symptoms, experiencing physiological arousal and hyper-vigilance.