The effect of social support skill-training group intervention on perceived social support in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Background:Traumatic events related to war have long effects on psychiatric psychopathologies. From these disturbing conditions, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is considered to be the most characteristic feature of psychiatric traumatic experience. The current study was designed to assess the effect of two social support skill-training group interventions on perceived social support in veterans with PTSD.Materials and Methods:The study was conducted with the clinical trial method. According to the inclusion criteria, 60 of 367 veterans with PTSD were selected and randomly allocated into two intervention groups and a control group. The two training programs on social support skills consisting of three sessions, each being 1.5–2 h, were held weekly for 3 weeks. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was filled by samples before and 6 weeks after intervention. The data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics using PASW Statistics 18.Results:The ANOVA results showed that after intervention, there were significant differences in perceived social support between intervention groups and control group (F = 1.06, p = 0.001), but there was no significant difference between intervention groups by t-test (t = 28.05, p < 0.10). The paired t-test showed a significant difference in all subscale scores of perceived social support between two intervention groups before and after intervention (p < 0.05).Conclusions:The results of the current study agreed with the positive effects of social support skill training on perceived social support in veterans with PTSD. It is suggested that these training courses should be included in the community re-entry programs of veterans with PTSD.

Functional Impairment in Borderline Personality Disorder: The Mediating Role of Perceived Social Support

“…Perceived social support, like other variables of this nature, should be more flexible and respond faster to an intervention. An increase in perceived social support could in turn enhance the BPD patient’s level of resilience and ability to cope with problems and negative emotions ( Nikmanesh and Honakzehi, 2016 ; Ghadirian et al, 2018 ; Cobo-Rendón et al, 2020 ). It could, therefore, be useful to help the BPD patient reframe their cognitions about their social network and teach them how to seek support more effectively, and at the same time work with families and significant others on more effective ways of conveying their support, which would also improve the overall quality of their relationships.…”

Assessment of psychosocial distress among the palliative care patients in Wardha District of Maharashtra

“…Normalizing of distress by patients and a lack of awareness and skill by clinicians in identifying and differentiating distress from appropriate sadness, along with limited management options, contribute to this under detection. [ 5 ] In the first assessment for anxiety about illness or treatment, 32% of the participants reply that they occasionally feel the anxiety, whereas the same reply has been given in follow-up assessment by 34% of the participants, with an average mean score of 1.59 and 1.31, respectively. Approximately 48% of the participants feel that their family or friends were occasionally anxious and worried for them in the first assessment of POS compared to follow-up assessment where the feeling has been changed with approximately 46% for not at all anxious or worried followed by 39% occasionally.…”

“My Scar”: Posttraumatic Loneliness as a Source of Pain and Resource for Coping

“…Because they fear that people who did not experience the same trauma will not understand their condition ( Rafferty et al, 2020 ), combat trauma survivors can experience a vicious cycle of loneliness that may worsen posttraumatic stress, hinder receiving necessary support, and delay recovery processes ( McGuffin et al, 2021 ; Zeligman et al, 2017 ). Indeed, veterans with PTSD received less social support than those without PTSD ( Sirati-Nir et al, 2018 ).…”