“…However, having positive social support, both formal and informal, following a SA can help decrease mental health symptoms (Dworkin et al, 2018: Ullman & Peter-Hagene, 2016, improve coping (Orchowski et al, 2013), and provide needed validation and further assistance to individuals (Kirkner et al, 2021). Yet many individuals report negative support following a SA which may worsen symptoms such as PTSD and depression (DeCou et al, 2017), leading to cessation of further disclosure or support seeking (Ahrens, 2006;Liang et al, 2005;Richter et al, 2021;Ullman, 1996Ullman, , 2007, and increase maladaptive coping mechanisms such as risky alcohol or substance misuse (McQueen et al, 2021;Ullman et al, 2018). To mitigate the harmful sequelae of trauma, it is important to understand differences in post-SA support pathways to help better connect survivors with positive support.…”