Social support and (complex) posttraumatic stress symptom severity: does gender matter?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cross-cultural research
• Trauma studies

Background:

• Perceived social support is a known factor influencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Gender's role in social support perception and trauma response requires further investigation.
• Complex PTSD (CPTSD) symptoms and their relationship with social support are under-researched, especially in diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gender differences in perceived social support, posttraumatic stress symptom severity (PTSS), and complex posttraumatic stress symptom severity (CPTSS).
• To examine the association between social support and PTSS/CPTSS across genders.
• To explore if gender moderates the relationship between social support and trauma-related distress.

Main Methods:

• A multi-country sample of 2483 adults exposed to various trauma types.
• Utilized the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the International Trauma Questionnaire.
• Regression analyses assessed gender, social support, PTSS/CPTSS associations, and interaction effects, controlling for age and socioeconomic status.

Main Results:

• Females reported higher PTSS and CPTSS than males, with no significant gender differences in perceived social support.
• Lower perceived social support correlated with higher PTSS/CPTSS in both genders.
• A weak interaction effect suggested the association between social support and PTSS might be slightly stronger in males.

Conclusions:

• Increased perceived social support is associated with reduced trauma-related distress in both men and women.
• The relationship between social support and trauma symptoms is largely consistent across genders.
• Augmenting perceived social support may be a beneficial strategy for PTSD and CPTSD interventions, irrespective of gender.