Introduction

Trauma is defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] (2014) as an event or situation that creates physical, emotional, and/or any harm, and has ongoing negative impacts on a person’s physical, mental, emotional, social, and/or spiritual wellbeing. Traumatic experiences can exist on a continuum from isolated, unrepeated events (known as simple trauma), such as experiencing a car accident or disaster event, to events that might reoccur and involve complex psychological responses, such as child abuse and neglect (known as complex trauma) (Bendall et al., 2018). Population-based data from the United States suggests 61.8% of young people aged 13 to 17 years have experienced at least one traumatic event (McLaughlin et al., 2013). Research conducted by the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHW) in Australia, indicates that by age 17, 41% of Australian adults had experienced a traumatic event (Barrett, 2020).

Trauma has been shown to impact young people’s emotional and behavioural regulation, cognitive development, academic outcomes, and overall mental health. Several studies have demonstrated that childhood trauma can have adverse effects on their cognitive function, including reasoning, attention, intelligence, and memory (Dye, 2018; McLaughlin & Lambert, 2017; Perfect et al., 2016). Trauma exposure can also impact students’ school attendance and academic engagement (Orr et al., 2023; Porche et al., 2016). In addition, young people exposed to trauma are at greater risk of emotional and behavioural problems, and mental illness in childhood and adulthood, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, and mood and anxiety disorders (Bailey et al., 2018; Downey & Crummy, 2022; McKay et al., 2021; Valladares-Garrido et al., 2023).

Research has also found that childhood trauma is associated with poorer social functioning and relationship challenges in childhood and adulthood (Fares-Otero et al., 2023; Pfaltz et al., 2022). Childhood trauma can lead to attachment difficulties in both childhood and adulthood, including difficulties forming secure attachments, and the development of anxious or avoidant relationships with others (Lahousen et al., 2019). Overall, studies on the negative impacts of childhood trauma emphasise the importance of support for young people following trauma exposure. Such support could prevent them from experiencing adverse cognitive, academic, psychological, social, and/or behavioural impacts in their younger years as well as later in life.

Help-seeking among Young People

Research suggests that young people are more reluctant to seek help for mental health concerns relative to other age groups (Ellinghaus et al., 2021). Help-seeking by young people is determined by individual factors, such as stigma and feelings of embarrassment or shame (Bendall et al., 2018; Radez et al., 2021), proximal factors, such as the perspectives of their parents, and distal determinants, such as service availability (Platell et al., 2020). Research has found that when young people access help from mental health practitioners, young people can perceive responses from professionals as invalidating (Ellinghaus et al., 2021). In other instances, a young person’s willingness or capacity to seek help can depend on their access to appropriate sources of support. Kantor et al. (2017) identified inadequate money and time as barriers to help seeking among young people. Young people have also identified structural barriers to seeking mental healthcare, including limited availability of mental health professionals (Ellinghaus et al., 2021). Access to mental health support has only worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic (Australian Psychological Society, 2022).

As a result of these personal and structural barriers, young people who experience trauma may not access help or disclose their trauma to others (Truss et al., 2023). While there is vast literature on the barriers and enablers of mental health help-seeking among children and youth, limited research has explored help-seeking for youth following exposure to a traumatic event (Truss et al., 2023). Truss investigated barriers to help-seeking among young people following a traumatic event using data from internet forums. The results highlighted that that young people avoided seeking help because they were concerned that seeking help would trigger their trauma memories. Another barrier to help-seeking was difficulties confiding in and trusting others, including parents, particularly if they were a perpetrator of the trauma. Other barriers identified in this research included fearing that their parents would force them to attend therapy or concerns about inflicting stress on their parents (Truss et al., 2023).

Research has documented that adolescents prefer to disclose challenging circumstances to friends and peers compared with parents and teachers (Berger et al., 2017; Fortune et al., 2008). However, Wahlin and Deane (2012) highlighted that young people named parents as the most important influence for them to seeking help for mental illness. A meta-analysis by Trickey et al. (2012) determined that youth who had supportive caregivers following a traumatic event were less likely to develop mental health problems compared to young people with less supportive caregivers. This research highlights the protective role parents can play in preventing mental illness and promoting recovery for youth following trauma. However, more research is needed to better understand how to promote youth help-seeking from parents in the context of experiencing trauma.

Study Aim and Research Questions

Despite multiple barriers for young people when seeking support for mental illness, there is limited research to date exploring young people’s perspectives about what can be done to support those exposed to trauma. Researchers are increasingly investigating ways to help young people with mental illness through incorporating their views and experiences (Hawke et al., 2020; Neelakantan et al., 2022). Neelakantan et al. (2022) concluded that there is an urgent need for more research involving adolescents on sensitive topics, such as mental health. While there is existing research on the impacts of childhood trauma, such as relationships, attachments, and behaviour, there is limited research on what young people believe parents can do to help when young people are exposed to trauma. Therefore, this research aimed to explore what young people (aged 15 to 18 years) believe parents can do to help young people exposed to trauma. The research questions guiding this research included:

  1. 1.

    What do young people think parents should do to help young people exposed to a traumatic event?

  2. 2.

    What do young people think parents should not do when helping young people exposed to a traumatic event?

Method

Participants

Due to the sensitive nature of the study, inclusion criteria included that respondents were aged 15 years and older. A total of 159 young people (83 boys, 74 girls, one non-binary/gender diverse person, and one person who preferred not to say) aged 15 to 18 years (M age = 16.6, SD = 0.9) participated in the study. Most participants were born in Australia (86.2%) and currently lived in Australia (88.7%), with 30.8% identifying as Aboriginal and 22.0% as Torres Strait Islander. Participants were in Year 8 (4.4%), Year 9 (11.3%), Year 10 (18.9%), Year 11 (34.0%), Year 12 (23.3%) and other year levels (2.5%). 5% of participants no longer attended or did not attend school at the time of the survey. Further demographic information is provided in Table 1.

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of participants
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Materials

To conduct the online survey, Qualtrics, an online software website, was used to create one survey with two sections. Section one included eight demographic questions, including age, gender, school grade, country of birth, country of residence, and whether participants identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Section two included two open-ended questions related to the participant’s perception about what parents can do to help young people exposed to trauma, and what they believe parents should not do. Traumatic events were defined in the survey using the SAMHSA’s definition of “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening, and that can have adverse effects on the individual’s mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being” (SAMHSA, 2014, p. 7). Of the 159 responders, 152 responded to the open-ended question “What do you think parents should do to help young people your age who are exposed to a traumatic event?” and 140 responded to the open-ended question “What do you think parents should not do when helping young people your age who are exposed to a traumatic event?”

Procedure

This study replicated the aims and methodology used by Berger et al. (2013). Ethics approval was obtained from the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee. Following ethics approval, young people were invited through advertisements placed on the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, to participate in the study. Young people were also encouraged to share details of the study with other young people who may be interested in participating. Interested young people were directed to click a link taking them to an information page with additional study information. Participants were asked to click on a link to provide their consent to participate and were then directed to the online survey. Parental consent was not required as young people aged 15 years and older are judged as mature minors by the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee. A list of mental health services for young people was provided at the start and end of the survey for respondents if they experienced distress as a result of completing the survey. At the end of the survey, a link (which was not linked to their data) was provided for participants who wished to provide their contact details to enter the draw to win one of sixty gift vouchers.

Analysis and Data Cleaning

Participants were removed from the analysis during the data cleaning phase. Two participants were removed because they did not provide their consent to use their data and 128 were removed as they did not answer any of the questions after providing consent. Another 2520 participants were removed as they only completed the demographic questions and did not fill out any of the open-ended questions. Eight participants were also removed because they entered numbers in response to the open-ended questions, while one participant entered a string of letters in response to the open-ended questions. Finally, 15 participants were removed as they clicked on the survey link but did not respond to any of the questions, including the consent questions. Therefore, the final analysis included data from 159 young people.

Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse the qualitative responses from young people. Thematic analysis is a well-known and useful technique to apply to large qualitative datasets, such as data generated from open-ended questions within surveys (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Thematic analysis is an explorative inductive approach that does not rely on preconceived theories or predictions about the results of research. This study adhered to the approach outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). Initially, one of the authors read and re-read the open-ended responses. This same author then identified similarities and recurring patterns within the data to establish potential themes. The author that conducted the initial analysis then cross-checked 20% of their analysis with another researcher to determine whether the themes and subthemes accurately represented the data. This was done to ensure reliability of the thematic analysis. Data was then independently coded by these two researchers and Cohen’s kappa (κ) coefficients were calculated between the two researchers for each theme and subtheme to determine inter-rater reliability of the coding. Kappa values of 0.01 to 0.20 indicate none to slight agreement, 0.21 to 0.40 indicate fair agreement, 0.41 to 0.60 indicate moderate agreement, 0.61 to 0.80 indicate substantial agreement, and 0.81 to 1.00 indicate near perfect agreement (Cohen, 1960). The kappa range for survey question one (“What do you think parents should do to help young people your age who are exposed to a traumatic event?”) was between 0.65 and 1.00 (M = 0.89), and the kappa range for survey question two (“What do you think parents should not do when helping young people your age who are exposed to a traumatic event?”) was between 0.77 and 1.00 (M = 0.94). Both survey questions produced a mean inter-rater reliability kappa rating in the near perfect agreement range.

Results

Out of 159 participants, there were 152 responses to the first question, “What do you think parents should do to help a young person who has been exposed to a traumatic event”? There were 19 missing cases to the second question, where 140 participants responded to, “What do you think parents should not do to help a young person who has been exposed to a traumatic event”? Twelve main themes emerged across both research questions. Responses varied in length, from two to four words, to two to three sentences. In instances in which more than one recommendation was offered, the response was separated into each respective theme (e.g., Parents should “give children and teenagers extra support and care” was included in the theme Love, Support, and Protection, and “contact [the] child’s doctor or therapist” was included in the theme Seek Further Help). Quotes have been included below to illustrate the meaning of each theme. Following each quote, the participant’s gender and age have been provided (e.g., M15 stands for Male aged 15 years and F17 stands for female aged 17 years). Themes and subthemes are included in Table 2.

Table 2 Themes and subthemes identified in the analysis
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Theme One: Communication

Across both research questions, 69 participants (45.4%) made general suggestions related to parent communication with young people about trauma. For example, young people indicated that parents could provide an approachable communication space and “chat in a comfortable and safe environment where the young person is relaxed and can talk about the issue” (F16). Participants also noted the importance of how their parents communicated with them, with one participant suggesting parents could “speak in a hopeful, positive and reassuring manner” (F16), while another indicated that it was unhelpful when their parents were “not talking in a gentle manner” (M16). Another recommendation was for parents to “communicate with [their] child as a friend and as an equal” (M17).

Theme Two: Validation and Understanding

Overall, 35.5% (n = 54) of participants expressed a desire for parents to be understanding and affirming of young people’s feelings and experiences. Many young people indicated that parents should “have an understanding of their children’s ideas” (F18) and their “psychological problems and questions” (M17). Other suggestions related to parent’s accepting young people’s responses to trauma, with one participant commenting, “believe their child” (F16), and another suggesting that parents “take their kids seriously” (F15). Some participants indicated that parents should refrain from invalidating or dismissing their child’s feelings, as well as making young people feel as though their “problems are insignificant and small” (F16). Participants expressed that communication would allow their parents to understand their child’s experience, as one young person describes, “try to talk about the matter to try to establish what they are going through” (M15).

Theme Three: Encouragement and Empowerment

Overall, 13.2% (n = 20) of participants recommended that parents encourage, reassure, and empower young people following their experience with trauma. Some young people highlighted the important role they would like parents to play following trauma, with one participant suggesting, “[parents] should be the ones that provide the greatest encouragement” (F18). Some participants recommended that parents show their encouragement for the young person’s future by “reassure[ing] them of a bright future” (M17). While others felt that it was the parents’ role to promote resilience in the young person, with one participant stating “parents can [h]elp their children establish a sense of strength, so that they bravely face such things” (M15). Participants also referenced the importance of autonomy and self-efficacy. To illustrate, one young person indicated that parents should “Encourage young people to control their own way of life” (F18), while another stated that parents should “provide choice… allowing them [young people] to make some decisions by themselves” (M16). Some participants also referred to giving young people a specific focus, including encouraging their child “to have a strong interest and a persistent goal to pursue” (M17), and “Encourage young people to do what I [sic] love” (M18).

Theme Four: Parental Attention and Availability

A total of 53.9% (n = 82) of participants suggested parents should be there for young people exposed to trauma, in the form of physical presence, being aware of changes in their behaviour, and providing love, support, and protection.

Quality Time

Just over 10% (10.5%, n = 16) of participants suggested that parents spend time and undertake activities with the young person. Some young people recommended that parents “spend time with them, take them to do things, watch movies with them” (F16). Participants indicated that parents could provide “company to” (M18) and not “distance themselves” (M15) from the young person.

Be Observant and Prepared

Overall, 13.2% (n = 20) of participants suggested that parents try to be observant of young people and “see when something is on their mind” (M17). One participant commented that “Even just noticing if we seem off can be enough to show the support” (F16), while another stated parents could engage in “careful observation, attention to the child’s change” (M18). Reference was also made to parents being knowledgeable about their own child, such as, “try to know what normally makes their child depressed” (M16).

Love, Support, and Protection

40% (40.1%, n = 61) of participants referred to parents offering their love, protection, and general support to young people. Results indicated that “parents should be the main point of support”, and “they are the closest to the situation [trauma] and how we have reacted to it” (F18). General support was mentioned frequently by young people, one young person noted that it would be helpful for parents to “support them again… until they feel ready and can process [the trauma] within themselves” (F18). Statements about love were also recurring. As one participant illustrates, “Always remind them that they [parents] love them [young person] and that they are there for them” (F15). Additionally, participants suggested things that parents can do to provide support, such as, “Do small things to express they [parents] are there and care regardless of their kid caring about what they do” (M17). Parents were also viewed as protectors who could provide safety for young people following trauma, with one participant indicating parents could “Protect us more” following a traumatic event (M17).

Theme Five: Provide Advice or Seek Help

A total of 34.9% (n = 53) of participants provided recommendations relevant to parents helping young people. The two categories of help were considered to be parents providing guidance and advice, or parents seeking further help for their young person from other people (e.g., mental health professionals).

Guidance and Advice

23% (n = 35) of participants suggested that parents should be able to help young people by providing guidance and “giving good advice to them [young people].” Parental guidance could also be offered by “correct[ing] any misinformation about the traumatic event” (M16), if young people required clarification. Another suggestion was for parents to role model to the young person how to cope with trauma, as one young person illustrates:

Parents can actively cope with difficulties and teach their children the experience of coping with difficulties, so that the children will have a sense of confidence that “I can also” and try their best to be a good example for their children (M18).

Participants also suggested that parents should “sit down… and tell them … when we were younger, we had similar experiences at your age, so don’t worry.” (M18). However, participants also indicated that parents should not “make it [trauma] about themselves” (F18) or compare how they responded to trauma with how their child is responding to trauma.

Seek Further Help

A total of 18.4% (n = 28) of participants indicated that parents could seek help for the young person affected by trauma. Participants suggested that parents could seek help from friends of the young person exposed to trauma, from those who have been affected by similar adversities, or from health professionals. Suggestions included that parents could provide young people “with ideas from the perspective of friends” (M17). Referral to professional help services was another common suggestion, such as, “Contact your child’s doctor or therapist. Some people need therapy to heal from traumatic stress” (F17). Another participant highlighted how “parents should give young people regular opportunities to… access support (e.g., counselling). Young people are often reluctant to initiate this on their own, but may be willing when given the opportunity” (F17). Despite this, participants highlighted that parents should not force young people to attend counselling, nor refuse to seek professional help on their behalf. Participants suggested that parents could support their child by connecting them with someone who has a lived experience of a traumatic event, as the young person would “likely benefit from speaking with another person who is affected” (F17).

Theme Six: Parental Intrusiveness

Almost 30% (29.6%, n = 45) of participants indicated that parents should have patience, respect the privacy of the young person, and avoid overwhelming or pressuring young people to discuss their trauma and seek help.

Patience and Privacy

16% (16.4%, n = 25) of participants expressed the need for parents to give the young person “time/space as needed for recovery” (F18) and “keep what was shared private” (F16). Despite the desire for parents to be loving and supportive, participants also stressed the need for parents to show patience and respect. Young people highlighted that parents should try and find the right space and time to talk rather than pushing conversations. Some young people were reluctant to “open up about their lives properly if it [sic] invaded or forced out of them” (F18). As one young person insightfully stated:

I find that when parents come into our room and try to relate, comfort us and ask if we are okay, makes us feel even worse than what we were already feeling. Time will ensure we can rethink our thoughts, and by giving us space it gives us time to vent without the judgement of the outside world. Our own bedroom and company gives us a safe zone to go to (F17).

Overwhelm and Pressuring

Overall, 21.7% of participants (n = 33) expressed that parents should refrain from overwhelming or pressuring young people. A participant reported: “Parents should not bombard the [young] person with questions” and should not “overstress the teen” (F16). Participants also stated that parents should not add pressures to the life of the young person, such as, “parents should not put extra pressure on the child regarding chores around the house or academic achievement” (F17). Participants advised that parents should not force young people to talk about their experience. They suggested that when the young person was ready to share, the parent should not interrupt, but instead “just listen to their child and let them express themselves” (F17).

Theme Seven: Judgement, Blame, and Dismissal

Overall, 46.1% of participants (n = 70) indicated that parents should not be judgemental, or dismissive towards young people, or blame them for their experiences. Participants suggested that parents should not “try to make the trauma seem like the kid’s fault” (F15). Further, when talking about trauma with young people, participants discussed that parents should avoid judgemental language, including “harsh, accusatory or judgemental tones” (F15). Additionally, young people claimed it would be unhelpful for parents to “ridicule them [young person] for what they’re going through” (F15), and parents should not ignore or “brush them [young person] aside” (F16).

Theme Eight: Avoid Patronising

Just over 10.5% of participants (n = 16) expressed that parents should not be condescending towards young people. Statements such as “it’s time to move on, it could not have been that bad” (M17) or when parents “change the subject to “back in my day” (F16), were frequently mentioned as unhelpful by participants. Some participants suggested that parents considered the “young people’s stress as trivial” (F15) or were even mocking the young person’s problems. Participants also recommended that parents approach possible treatment from a young person’s perspective rather than an adult’s perspective, including one participant advising parents to “please do not use adult understanding to deal with [young people’s] treatment” (M18).

Theme Nine: Aggression and Arguing

One of the recurring suggestions was for parents to “help without being angry” (F17). In total, 21.1% of participants (n = 32) indicated that parents should avoid being aggressive and arguing with young people. Participants frequently mentioned that parents should not scold their children, such as, “yell or get angry” (F16), “lose their temper easily” (F17), or “be toxic [and] abuse [sic] [towards] their kids” (F15). Participants conveyed that parents should not “start arguments” or “quarrel with their children” (M16).

Theme Ten: Don’t Know

Just over 4% (4.6%, n = 57) of participants indicated that they did not know or understand how to respond to the questions, and they responded with comments such as “Don’t know” (M17) and “I don’t understand” (M18).

Discussion

To our knowledge, no other published research has documented young people’s perspectives about how parents can be supportive or not to young people exposed to trauma. One of the most commonly endorsed recommendations from participants related to how parents should talk to young people, including validating the young person’s experiences, while also respecting their privacy and boundaries when discussing traumatic events. The study found that young people perceive parents to be a valuable source of support when they provide non-judgemental communication, encouragement, and respect. Of concern, participants also provided examples of inappropriate responses, likely to contribute further to the stress of young people. Responses by parents, such as being judgemental, blaming, dismissing, patronising, and aggression or arguing are all likely to increase psychological stress for young people exposed to trauma.

Participants’ recommendations that parents should provide non-judgemental communication and encouragement to young people exposed to trauma are indicative of healthy patterns of responding and secure child/parent attachment. Whereas responses that young people recommended should be avoided by parents (e.g., blaming, dismissing, patronising, and aggressive communication) are characteristic of insecure and less healthy relationships. This research underscores the importance of educating parents about the potential damaging impact of negative responses towards children exposed to trauma, and support for parents to find alternative ways to assist and communicate with young people exposed to trauma. This recommendation will be discussed in the context of trauma-informed practice and the potential re-traumatising nature of parents’ reactions for young people.

The findings of this study align with prior studies in which young people suggested that parents should talk and listen non-judgmentally to young people who self-injure (Berger et al., 2013), and that talking to young people about trauma can help them to process their experiences, which can reduce the likelihood of posttraumatic stress (Eastwood et al., 2021; Williamson et al., 2019). However, previous research has demonstrated that parents feel ill-equipped to talk to their children about mental illness, can be unsure how to access mental health support for their child (Hurley et al., 2020), and are concerned that discussing stressful experiences may negatively impact their child’s mental health (Williamson et al., 2016). Our findings provide guidance to parents on how to navigate conversations with their child about traumatic experiences.

Past research has identified that parents experience a lack of agency and information from practitioners to enable them to support their children with mental illness (Hiscock et al., 2020). Conversely, research has shown that including parents and families in their children’s mental health treatment can improve child outcomes, parents’ mental health knowledge, and their capacity to support their child outside of therapy sessions (Dowell & Ogles, 2010; Ong et al., 2021). In the current study, young people reported that by talking to their child, parents could gain a better understanding of their child’s experience, would be able to model to children appropriate ways of coping, and that parents were the most important supports for young people exposed to trauma. However, there are currently few evidence-based guidelines and resources available to mental health professionals for supporting parents of young people exposed to trauma.

The results of this study can be used by mental health practitioners when supporting parents and guardians of young people exposed to trauma. Research has found that a parent’s capacity to support their child following trauma can be impacted by their own wellbeing and distress following the traumatic experience (Alisic et al., 2012). Therefore, it is critical that parents are supported and provided with advice from mental health professionals following their child’s exposure to a traumatic event. Trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based intervention which incorporates parent psychoeducation and support when a child has been exposed to a traumatic event (Cohen & Mannarino, 2008). Similar to other family-focused trauma interventions, TF-CBT includes treatment guidelines and implementation manuals for practitioners to use to prevent re-traumatisation and improve mental health of parents and children impacted by trauma (TF-CBT, n.d.). There is an urgent need to further develop and implement trauma-informed parenting programs to prevent parents from re-traumatising their child through negative and unhelpful reactions.

Trauma-informed practice is an emerging area of intervention designed to support individuals, schools, and communities exposed to trauma. Trauma-informed practice differs from other trauma-based interventions, such as TF-CBT, in that the focus is on creating supportive environments and caregiver relationships beyond therapeutic settings for people exposed to trauma. Trauma-informed parenting programs have primarily been developed and evaluated to support carers of children in out-of-home care. Sullivan and colleagues (2016) and Murray and colleagues (2019) for example conducted evaluations of trauma-informed parenting programs for carers of children in care, and found caregivers showed significant increases in their knowledge of trauma-informed parenting and their perceived self-efficacy when parenting a child who had experienced trauma.

Few programs have been developed to support parents of children not residing in out-of-home care. Recently, a program called Trauma-Focused Tuning into Kids was developed for parents of children exposed to trauma. Tuning into Kids and Tuning into Teens are parenting programs which provide emotional coping training to parents (Havighurst et al., 2010, 2015). These programs emphasise the importance of parents developing healthy relationships and improving communication with their young person (Havighurst et al., 2021). A ten-week trauma-informed version of the Tuning into Kids program has been developed which includes two parent sessions on the impact of trauma on child development and attachments. Havighurst and colleagues (2021) conducted a program evaluation of the Trauma-Focused Tuning into Kids program with parents of children (aged 3 to 15 years) exposed to trauma. Following the intervention, parents reported significant improvements in their relationship with their child, greater social-emotional skills, improvements in children’s behavioural and emotional regulation skills, and improved psychological health of parents. It is important that educational trauma-informed programs are developed and available for adolescents older than 15 years of age and are evaluated in randomised control trials to test program efficacy. The results of this study and prior programs can be used to develop and evaluate guidelines for parents around supporting their child after trauma exposure.

Results of this study suggest that parents require trauma-informed parent education programs to learn communication skills to communicate with their child following exposure to a traumatic event. Communication strategies included finding a suitable time and place to talk with their child, remaining hopeful, and reassuring the child of a positive outcome. However, young people also mentioned that parents should not force their children to talk about traumatic events, and instead should make themselves available to listen and help young people to make decisions for their own mental health. In addition to several communication strategies, young people recommended that parents should focus on maintaining a loving, supportive, and close relationship with their child, such as through engaging in shared activities with their child or referring their child to a mental health professional. However, young people also recommended that parents should have skills to manage their own emotions when talking to their child, such as managing their anger, speaking in a non-judgemental tone, and not pressuring or blaming their child when exposed to trauma.

Findings of this study provide valuable insights when reviewing or developing new resources and guidelines for parents of children and youth exposed to trauma. The results demonstrate the necessity for continuous support from mental health professionals for parents in such situations. This is due to the range of needs and preferences offered by young people who participated in this study. For instance, while young people expressed the importance and need for parental support and active listening, they also noted that some young people may require space and time to make their own decisions. In addition, while it was mentioned that parents should support young people through modelling ways of coping, young people also expressed that parents should avoid making judgements based on their own experiences of trauma. This study provides a timely reminder for mental health professionals and parents to recognise the diverse and varied needs of young people exposed to trauma.

Limitations

There are some limitations of this study which need to be acknowledged. First, for ethical reasons, the study was unable to determine whether the young people responding to the survey had experienced trauma or were experiencing trauma. The questions were also framed around trauma generally and did not ask young people about specific traumatic events. While this is a strength of the study, capturing young people’s views on a wide range of stressors, it is also a limitation because the study did not distinguish between different types of traumas. Future research could add to the results of this preliminary study through investigating the perceptions of young people exposed to different forms of trauma. Second, the current sample overrepresents perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. Australian census data shows that 3.2% of the Australian population identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021). The current study included a sample of 52.8% of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander young people. It is unclear why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people were overrepresented in the current study, however research has found that these youth are at greater risk of trauma compared with non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). It could be that the study was of interest to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth with their own trauma experiences. Finally, it is recommended that further qualitative and quantitative research is conducted with young people to understand their perceptions on how parents can help support young people exposed to trauma, to extend the findings of this study. For example, interviews may provide more in-depth information on this topic which is not possible with survey data.

Conclusion

T*he current study contributes new important knowledge about how young people perceive parents can support young people exposed to trauma. As young people often encounter difficulties in seeking professional support, parents can serve as facilitators in connecting them with appropriate mental health resources. The recommendations provided by young people in this study indicate that parents should engage in open communication, validate the young person’s experience, and gently encourage help-seeking at the young person’s pace. Parent education programs and support for parents from mental health professionals may provide them with appropriate knowledge and resources to be effective helpers for young people exposed to trauma. Given the prevalence of childhood trauma, it is imperative that all adults, including parents, have adequate knowledge, confidence, and skills to support young people and encourage their recovery from trauma. Most importantly, it is essential that parents are provided with education, support, and counselling to prevent further harm to children exposed to trauma.