Emotional reactions in parents of the youth who experienced the Utoya shooting on 22 July 2011; results from a cohort study

Objective and setting

The objective of this study was to provide knowledge about the emotional reactions in parents whose offspring experienced a mass shooting on Utøya island in Norway in 2011. The research questions included whether parents' reactions were influenced by their offspring's symptom level, age, living situation and parental gender.

Design

The study was designed as an open cohort study. The data were collected at two time points; 4–5 months and 14–15 months after the shooting.

Participants

The participants were 531 parents of youth exposed to the Utøya island attack.

Outcome measures

The Parental Emotional Reaction Questionnaire measured parents' reactions, and University of California, Los Angeles Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index measured youths' post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Results

Parental emotional reactions were positively related to post-traumatic stress reactions in offspring at wave 1: Est.=0.20, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.30, p<0.001, over time (wave 1and wave 2 nested within individuals): Est.=0.23, CI 0.13 to 0.32, p<0.001, and at wave 2: Est.=0.26, CI 0.12 to 0.39, p<0.001. Youths' age was not significantly related to parental emotional reactions, neither at wave 1: Est.=0.19, CI –0.40 to 0.77, p=0.531, over time: Est.=0.26, CI –0.27 to 0.79, p=328, nor at wave 2: Est.=0.32, CI –0.41 to 1.05, p=0.389. Mothers were more emotionally upset than fathers both at wave 1: Est.=–5.66, CI –7.63 to –3.69, p<0.001, over time: Est.=–5.36, CI –7.18 to –3.55, p<0.001, and at wave 2: Est.=–5.33, CI –7.72 to –2.53, p<0.001.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that parenting after trauma should be addressed in outreach programmes and in planning of healthcare services.

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