Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and injury: the moderating role of perceived social support and coping for young adults

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Abstract

Individuals who experience a traumatic event are at risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present investigation examined (1) the relationship between PTSD symptoms and perceived injury sustained during a traumatic event, and (2) the moderational roles of the survivor’s coping behaviors and perceived support on the injury-PTSD relationship. A sample of college students completed self-report measures describing the trauma, coping styles, support, and PTSD symptoms. Results indicated that the degree of perceived injury significantly predicted levels of PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, individuals who self-reported more severe levels of injury reported less severe PTSD symptoms when they also perceived more friend support or utilized interpersonal styles of coping. These findings emphasize the value of perceiving and seeking support for survivors of traumatic events.

Introduction

It has been estimated that 10–40% of individuals who experience trauma will subsequently develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Michaels et al., 1999). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association[APA], 2000) defines a traumatic event as something that causes serious threat to one’s life and that elicits a fear and/or helpless response from the individual. Specific traumatic experiences can include natural or technological disasters, violent crimes, abusive relationships, and sexual assaults. It is estimated that 50–60% of the United States population will experience a traumatic event (Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, 2003). Given that the prevalence of PTSD is considered one of the most common anxiety disorders experienced among young adults (Breslau, Davis, Andreski, & Peterson, 1991), an examination of potential risk and protective factors of PTSD, and interactions among these variables, is warranted.

The present investigation focused on three factors that have been found to be related to PTSD symptoms: (1) level of perceived injury sustained during the traumatic event, (2) coping strategies, and (3) level of perceived social support. Unlike previous studies, the goal of the present study was to evaluate coping strategies and perceived social support as variables that might moderate the relationship between perceived severity of injury, as a trauma characteristic, and PTSD symptoms. An exploration of these relationships may account for individual differences in posttraumatic stress reactions in young adults.

Section snippets

Conceptual model

In an effort to determine how perceived injury severity, coping behavior, and social support are related to one another and subsequent PTSD symptomatology, it is important to review how these factors have been incorporated into developmental models of PTSD. Green, Wilson, and Lindy (1985) proposed a widely accepted psychosocial model of adult PTSD (Peterson, Prout, & Schwarz, 1991). Their conceptual model describes how the event, in consideration with the processing of that event, is the

Present study

In sum, previous research has found significant relationships between injury sustained, coping behavior, and perceived social support and PTSD. The purpose of the current study was to focus on these variables in an effort to assess whether perceived social support and coping behavior moderate the relationship between perceived injury severity and subsequent PTSD reactions. It is also essential that these variables be adequately assessed in a young adult sample given the prevalence of this

Discussion

This study investigated the importance of perceived injury severity, perceived social support, and coping behaviors in young adults’ PTSD symptomatology. Consistent with our hypotheses, more severe perceived injury predicted PTSD severity while high support from family contributed to significantly fewer symptoms. Regarding coping styles, avoidant forms of coping, specifically disengagement coping behavior, contributed significantly to the severity of PTSD, while no significant main effects for

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