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Endorsement of trauma stereotypes: Implications for the provision of survivor support
Joshua D Clapp1, Kenneth E McClure2, Ethan Dahl3
1Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming.
Objective:
While social support is believed to be a critical factor in posttrauma recovery, support interactions occur in context. Relatively few studies have examined public willingness to offer assistance to survivors, despite the potential for stereotypes about trauma and different exposure events to influence support. The present study examined the associations of stereotype endorsement and exposure event on willingness to offer support to hypothetical survivors.
Method:
University students (N = 223) completed online measures evaluating trauma stereotypes, state affect, and social desirability. Students attended a later lab session (M = 2.4 weeks) to rate willingness to offer friendship, emotional support, and practical support to hypothetical survivors of combat, disaster, motor vehicle, and sexual trauma. Bayesian regression was used to examine the unique effects of stereotype endorsement, vignette, social desirability, and state affect on ratings of support.
Results:
Stereotype endorsement predicted less willingness to offer friendship to survivors (OR = 0.53). Participants were less willing to offer friendship to combat veterans relative to survivors of sexual assault (OR = 3.84), accident (OR = 3.53), and disaster (OR = 3.32), with similar results for emotional support (assault: OR = 2.20; accident: OR = 2.45; disaster: OR = 2.23). Practical support was lower for combat relative to accident (OR = 1.55) and sexual assault (OR = 2.06) scenarios. Support ratings tended to be higher for trauma vignettes versus modal response to scenarios depicting nontrauma stressors.
Conclusions:
Trauma-related stigma and the type of exposure event may hold associations with support engagement in survivor communities. Results may hold implications for interventions looking to incorporate resources from potential support networks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
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