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Identifying Child Injury Victims at Risk for Chronic Stress

Douglas Delahanty, PhD

The way in which a parent responds to a childā€™s injury often impacts how upset the little one becomes. This age-old parenting wisdom is one component of a new study by a KSU researcher into predictors of long-term post- traumatic stress in children.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a three- year, $460,000 grant to Douglas Delahanty, PhD, professor of psychological sciences in KSUā€™s College of Arts and Sciences and associate vice president for research faculty development with Research and Sponsored Programs, for his project, ā€œEmotion Processing Deficits and Risk for Impairment in Child Injury Victims.ā€

ā€œWeā€™re trying to identify which children and families will have a harder time after a traumatic event,ā€ Delahanty says. ā€œA small but significant percentage will develop persistent psychological symptoms that can impact their functioning for a long time. The trick is how to identify that small group and intervene with them.ā€

The research team consists of Delahanty, Karin Coifman, PhD, and Jeff Ciesla, PhD (both associate professors of psychological sciences at KSU), as well as Sarah Ostrowski- Delahanty, PhD, and Norman Christopher, MD, from Akron Childrenā€™s Hospital.

The primary focus is to test two new factors thought to increase risk for persistent distress in child injury victims: high threat sensitivity (how likely one is to perceive danger in a situation) and low inhibitory control (the inability to assess and rationalize their sensitivity to perceived threats).

Parental reactions to a childā€™s serious injury have a large impact on the childā€™s recovery.

ā€œWeā€™ve also seen that parental reactions to a childā€™s serious injury have a large impact on the childā€™s recovery,ā€ Delahanty says. ā€œAnd parental post-traumatic stress can have a large impact on a childā€™s functioning afterwards.ā€

A major goal was to increase the number of dads in the study. ā€œAlmost all research looks at the impact of the motherā€™s reactions on the child,ā€ Delahanty says. ā€œWe know little of the father-child dyad.ā€

The grant also provides major support for students to be involved in the research. Undergraduate students recruit families and collect data at Akron Childrenā€™s Hospital, then follow up at regular intervals, Delahanty says. ā€œStudents gain critical research experience that increases their chances of securing employment or being admitted to graduate school.

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POSTED: Wednesday, September 4, 2019 03:06 PM
Updated: Thursday, September 19, 2019 10:46 AM
WRITTEN BY:
Dan Pompili