A Longitudinal Study of the Bidirectional Relationship Between Social Support and Posttraumatic Stress Following a Natural Disaster

Abstract

There is ample evidence that social support is protective against posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms through social causation processes. It is also likely that PTS is associated with decreased social support through social selection processes. Few studies, however, have examined the longitudinal and bidirectional associations between social support and PTS in a postdisaster context, and whether such associations vary by type of support (e.g., emotional, informational, or tangible). We examined these relationships using Galveston Bay Recovery Study data. Participants (N = 658) were interviewed 2–6 months (W1), 5–9 months (W2), and 14–19 months (W3) after Hurricane Ike in 2008. Longitudinal relationships between each support type and PTS were examined in cross-lagged models. W1 emotional support was negatively associated with W2 PTS (Estimate = −.13, p = .007), consistent with social causation. W1 PTS was negatively associated with W2 emotional support (Estimate = −.14, p = .019), consistent with social selection. In contrast, pathways were nonsignificant at subsequent waves and for informational and tangible support. Results suggested that postdisaster social causation and selection were limited to emotional support and diminish over time. Based on these findings, postdisaster services should emphasize restoring supportive social connections to minimize the psychiatric consequences of disaster, especially among those with prior evidence of distress.

The relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms among youth exposed to a natural disaster

“…Platt et al (2016) found very limited evidence for social causation mechanisms among adults. Specifically, they found that emotional support at 2–6 months post-disaster was related to PTSS at 5–9 months post-disaster, but they found no significant relationships at their later timepoint (i.e.…”

“…Cross-lagged models were based on those developed by Platt et al (2016), who examined social selection and social causation mechanisms among adults after Hurricane Ike. Path models were developed for the primary analyses using mean scores for the PTSS and social support variables.…”

“…The models were initially run including the following covariates, selected based on theoretical reasons: child age, minority status, gender, perceived life threat, and actual life threat. Models were trimmed to exclude nonsignificant paths ( p  ≥ .10) in the final models, as was the case in the Platt et al (2016) analysis. After trimming nonsignificant paths, if the model exhibited poor fit, modification indices and studentized residuals were consulted to identify relationships that, if modelled, would improve fit.…”

“…Among adults, initial research supports both social causation and social selection models (Kaniasty & Norris, 2008). Social causation models posit that lower social support leads to increased risk for mental health problems (Johnson, Cohen, Dohrenwend, Link, & Brook, 1999; Platt, Lowe, Galea, Norris, & Koenen, 2016). For children, this might mean that reduced social support impairs their ability to cope with distress.…”

Health among disaster survivors and health professionals after the Haiyan Typhoon: a self-selected Internet-based web survey

“…The loss of a loved one was the factor that most negatively influenced general health. Although the exact underlying mechanism of social relations and support in disaster situations is still not fully known, it has been observed that such aspects are of importance for health [21, 35]. …”