Size of the social network versus quality of social support: which is more protective against PTSD?

Abstract

The diversity of a social network is potentially more protective against PTSD than the perception of strong social support. This suggests that programs, which engage individuals in social groups and activities may effectively attenuate the risk of PTSD. A better understanding of how these networks operate with respect to PTSD prevention and mitigation holds promise for improving psychiatric health.

Social networks, mental health problems, and mental health service utilization in OEF/OIF National Guard veterans

“…Social support is a multidimensional construct that can be assessed through both structural social support and perceived social support [9,10]. Structural social support is & Rebecca K. Sripada rekaufma@umich.edu often measured by the size of one's social network (the number of members in the network) and by the diversity of one's network (the different types of supportive roles filled by those network members) [9,10].…”

“…Structural social support is & Rebecca K. Sripada rekaufma@umich.edu often measured by the size of one's social network (the number of members in the network) and by the diversity of one's network (the different types of supportive roles filled by those network members) [9,10]. Perceived social support is one's subjective perception of the support received or available from one's social network [9,10]. Both types of support are associated with mental health outcomes [9,10] and may be associated with mental health treatment participation [11][12][13][14][15].…”

“…Perceived social support is one's subjective perception of the support received or available from one's social network [9,10]. Both types of support are associated with mental health outcomes [9,10] and may be associated with mental health treatment participation [11][12][13][14][15]. Several lines of evidence suggest that larger social network size may be associated with better mental health in National Guard.…”

“…Several lines of evidence suggest that larger social network size may be associated with better mental health in National Guard. Social network size is inversely associated with mental health problems in community samples [9,10,[16][17][18], veterans [19][20][21], and other groups including cancer survivors [22]. One study found an inverse linear relationship between social network size and mental health conditions in veterans such that the probability of having a mental health condition was 38.3 % for those reporting no social network members, 28.1 % for those reporting one to two members, 18.5 % for those reporting three to five members, and 13.1 % for those reporting six or more members [20].…”

“…Low perceived social support has been associated with increased risk for depression [10,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [9,[32][33][34][35], psychological distress [36][37][38], and poor quality of life [22,39] in multiple populations. This relationship may be particularly strong in military and veteran populations [21,23,[34][35][36][40][41][42].…”