Experience of growing up in family with parent who has PTSD

PTSP je psihijatrijski poremećaj koji nastaje uslijed svjedočenja životno ugrožavajućim iskustvima poput prirodnih katastrofa, nasilja, ratnih trauma, fizičkog zanemarivanja i zlostavljanja u djetinjstvu (Kozarić-Kovačić, Kovačić i Rukavina, 2007). Negativni učinci PTSP-a uzrokuju teškoće ne samo oboljelom već i čitavoj njegovoj obitelji. Dosadašnja istraživanja pokazala su kako simptomi PTSP-a oboljelog mogu uzrokovati teškoće u bračnoj prilagodb i obiteljskoj koheziji (Gold i sur., 2007; Taft i sur., 2008), te da mogu uzrokovati psihološke i bihevioralne probleme kod djece (Boričević Maršanić i sur., 2014; Krešić Čorić i sur., 2016). Da bi se djeca, ali i cjelokupna obitelj što bolje prilagodila potrebna joj je socijalna podrška unutar obitelji, ali i iz okoline koja nažalost manjka. U ovom radu prikazani su rezultati kvalitativnog istraživanja polustrukturiranim intervjuom sa sedmero mladih osoba u ranoj odrasloj dobi koji su odrastali u obitelji s roditeljem oboljelim od PTSP-a. Rezultati ukazuju na to da: a) očev PTSP ima utjecaja na funkcioniranje obitelji u području komunikacije, podjele uloga u obitelji te obiteljskom ozračju/atmosferi; b) odnos s ocem isprepleten je toplo-hladnim interakcijama i ponašanjima; te c) najviše podrške sudionici dobivaju od neformalnih izvora dok je formalna podrška u potpunosti izostala. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na važnost izrade kvalitetnih i dostupnih programa podrške djeci koja odrastaju u obiteljima s roditeljem oboljelim od PTSP-a.PTSD is a psychiatric disorder which emerges after witnessing life threatening experiences such as natural disasters, violence, war trauma, physical neglect and childhood abuse (Kozarić-Kovačić, Kovačić i Rukavina, 2007). Negative effects of PTSD cause problems not only to the person with disorder but also its entire family. Research has shown that symptoms of PTSD may cause difficulties in adapting to marriage, in family cohesion (Gold et al., 2007; Taft et al., 2008) and may cause psychological and behavioural problem in children (Boričević Maršanić et al., 2014: Krešić Čorić et. al., 2016). In order for the children and the whole family to adapt better, it is necessary to have social support within the family but also from the community which is, unfortunately, absent. This paper presents results of qualitative research of a semi-structured approach with seven young adults who have grown up in a family with a parent who suffers from PTSD. The results show that: a) the father's PTSD has an impact on family functioning in the area of communication, division of family roles and family atmosphere; b) relationship with the father is interwoven with warm-cold interactions and behaviours and c) the majority of support participants receive from informal sources while formal support is completely absent. These findings point to the importance of developing quality and accessible support programs for children who are growing up in family with a parent who suffers from PTSD