The Impact of Social Support on the Relationship between Trauma History and PTSD Symptoms in Motor Vehicle Accident Victims

The present study examined how different types of social support differentially moderated the relationship between trauma history characteristics and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSS) following a motor vehicle accident (MVA). Two hundred thirty-five MVA victims self-reported levels of social support and trauma history, and were evaluated for PTSS 6- and 12-months post-MVA. Results indicated that after controlling for gender, injury severity and income, number of prior trauma types and subjective responses to prior traumatization predicted subsequent PTSS (ps < .05). Appraisal social support was a significant moderator of the total number of types of trauma (appraisal: 6-months β = -.16, p < .05; 12-months β = -.17, p < .05) and subjective physical injury during the prior trauma (appraisal: 6-months β = -.14, p < .05; 12-months β = -.19, p < .05) in predicting PTSS. Results underscore the importance of examining both trauma history and social support as multi-dimensional constructs and suggest merit to addressing social support in trauma victims with a prior trauma history.