Social support moderates posttraumatic stress and general distress after disaster

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Disaster mental health
• Social support research

Background:

• Social support is known to mitigate stress, but its role in disaster contexts is less understood.
• Previous research shows mixed findings on direct and buffering effects of social support post-disaster.
• Disaster research needs to clarify how social support moderates distress across varying exposure levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if social support's protective effects vary with disaster exposure severity.
• To determine if social support buffers event-specific versus general psychological distress.
• To clarify the moderating role of social support in disaster mental health.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 4,600 Swedish tourists 14 months after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
• Utilized the Crisis Support Scale, Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).
• Analyzed data to assess the buffering effects of social support across different exposure and distress levels.

Main Results:

• Social support demonstrated a significant buffering effect on distress for both event-specific and general psychological outcomes.
• The association between social support and distress was stronger in individuals with higher exposure severity.
• No significant difference was found in the buffering effect between event-specific (IES-R) and general distress (GHQ-12).

Conclusions:

• Social support acts as a crucial moderator in the relationship between disaster stressors and psychological distress.
• Findings suggest that the impact of social support is more pronounced in individuals facing greater disaster exposure.
• This research aids in understanding discrepant findings and refining post-disaster mental health interventions.