Parental PTSD and Children’s Well-Being During Wartime: The Role of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation

Abstract

On October 7, 2023, the Israel–Hamas war broke out, leading to heightened psychological distress across the civilian population in both Israel and Gaza. Research shows that children are especially vulnerable to war-related stress, with caregiver mental health strongly influencing their psychosocial outcomes. Yet, studies on the link between parental posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and children’s well-being during wartime remain scarce, particularly regarding protective factors that may buffer the impact of parental mental health on children’s well-being. A promising protective factor is how parents help children regulate their emotions, i.e., interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). This study explored the moderating role of adaptive parental IER strategies on the relationship between parental PTSD symptoms and children’s behavioral and emotional difficulties. The research was conducted shortly after the war began (November 10–25, 2023), during a period of potential exposure to severe violence and stress. Participants were 318 Israeli parents (76% mothers; Mage = 40.2, SD = 6.9), all of whom had children aged 5–18 (M = 9.2, SD = 3.8). A regression analysis revealed that higher parental PTSD symptoms correlated with greater behavioral and emotional difficulties in children, and that parental IER buffered this relationship. These findings emphasize the protective role of adaptive IER in mitigating family stress during wartime. Integrating that role into trauma-informed parenting programs can provide a critical resource for families facing chronic stress or trauma in conflict zones.