Parent–Child Communication after Parental Exposure to Potentially Traumatic Events: A Systematic Review

Editorial reading guide · Trust

How do families talk about a difficult event that happened to a parent?

The review distinguishes the communication families describe from assumptions about how much children ought to be told.

Who was studied?

Studies of communication between children and parents after potentially traumatic events affecting a parent

Age / stage: Child and adolescent populations across studies

Read with three questions

1. How do families talk about a difficult event that happened to a parent?
2. Which inclusion criteria and differences among the original studies matter for the authors’ conclusions?
3. Which features of the study population (studies of communication between children and parents after potentially traumatic events affecting a parent) would matter when applying the findings in another setting?

Keep the limits in view

The 31 studies differed in parental exposure and how communication was assessed. The synthesis cannot prescribe what every parent should disclose following a potentially traumatic event.