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. 2023 Dec 19:14:1283801.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1283801. eCollection 2023.

Harsh parenting among veterans: parents' military-related PTSD, mentalization, and pre-military trauma

Xiafei Wang  1 , Qingyang Liu  2 , Gabriel J Merrin  2 , Amanda Keller  3 , Dalhee Yoon  4 , Ava Henderson  1
Affiliations

Harsh parenting among veterans: parents' military-related PTSD, mentalization, and pre-military trauma

Xiafei Wang et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Objectives: Veteran parents experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may resort to harsh parenting. The indirect pathway from parental military-related PTSD to harsh parenting, and the moderating role of parents' pre-military trauma histories, has been less explored. Informed by mentalization theory, as well as trauma-sensitive and posttraumatic growth perspectives, we aim to explore the associations between veteran parents' military-related PTSD, mentalization, harsh parenting, and prior trauma before military service.

Methods: Data were collected from an online research panel of 509 veteran parents with children under 10. We employed Structural Equation Models to test indirect and moderating effects.

Results: We identified an indirect effect of parental pre-mentalization from military PTSD to harsh parenting [corporal punishment: b = 0.35, p < 0.001, 95% CI (0.23, 0.46); psychological aggression: b = 0.14, p < 0.001, 95% CI (0.09, 0.19)]. Multi-group analysis on four parent groups (parents with only pre-military physical trauma, parents with only pre-military psychological trauma, parents with both pre-military physical and psychological trauma, and parents with no pre-military physical or psychological trauma) highlighted differences in these associations, particularly between parents with only pre-military physical trauma and those without any physical and psychological trauma. The military-related PTSD effects on psychological aggression, corporal punishment, and pre-mentalization were all significantly higher for parents without pre-military physical and psychological trauma.

Conclusion: Modifying parents' interpretation of their child's mental states can potentially counteract the effects of veterans' military PTSD on harsh parenting. Family-based programs should be created considering veteran parents' pre-military trauma histories.

Keywords: harsh parenting; posttraumatic stress disorder; pre-mentalization; pre-military trauma; veterans.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Main effect of veteran's pre-mentalization mediates PTSD toward psychological aggression and corporal punishment (N = 509). X2 = 458.63, df = 157, CFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.88, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.09. Report standardized coefficient. Controls parental race and poverty status. Solid line indicates significant and dash line refers to insignificant path. *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Group analysis. Group 1: Experience both trauma (n = 107). Group 2: Experience only physical trauma (n = 100). Group 3: Experience only psychological trauma (n = 42). Group 4: Experience no physical or psychological trauma (n = 260). *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001.
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