Posttraumatic growth (PTG) was examined in Norwegian parents 2.5 years after they were exposed, together with their children, to the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami.
Parents reported on their own and their children’s disaster exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) 10 months post-disaster. Children reported their own PTSS.
Multiple regression analyses showed that children’s distress 10 months post-disaster predicted parental PTG 1 year later, over and above the effects of parents’ own distress and disaster exposure. This study demonstrates that stress and vulnerability related to parenting in and after a disaster situation may contribute to PTG.