Psychological trajectories of mothers and fathers following their child's diagnosis of a life-threatening illness or injury: A longitudinal investigation

Abstract

Objective: Explore the mental health trajectories of parents following their child's life-threatening illness/injury. Methods: Participants were 217 parents (mean age: 34.9–40.0; 66 fathers) of 165 children who presented to a tertiary hospital with a life-threatening illness/injury. Parents completed questionnaires about their mental health and psychosocial stressors within 4 weeks of the child's illness/injury (T1), and 4 months (T2), 7 months (T3), and 19 months (T4) postdiagnosis. Results: For both mothers and fathers, mental health symptoms were elevated at diagnosis declining to normal levels by T3, with a pattern of increase at T4. Fathers demonstrated a faster decline in symptoms betw..