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Child / Adolescent - Trauma / Maltreatment

Examining the Relation between Perceived Social Support and PTSD Symptom Severity in Trauma-Exposed Youth

(PS4-B46) Examining the Relation Between Perceived Social Support and PTSD Symptom Severity in Trauma-exposed Youth

Friday, November 17, 2023

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM PST

Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7

Author(s)

Shannon G. Litke, M.S.

Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
Drexel University
New York, New York

Co-Author(s)

CJ

Christina Johnson, M.P.H.

Director of Research Operations
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
ND

Natalie Dallard, M.A.

Director, Evidence Based Practice and Innovation Center
Community Behavioral Health, DBHIDS
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
MK

Melanie Klein, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist
HARBOR
Ardmore, Pennsylvania
BD

Brian P. Daly, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Department Head
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
RB

Rinad Beidas, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Ralph Seal Paffenbarger Professor and Chair
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois

Approximately two-thirds of youth are exposed to at least one potentially traumatic event during childhood or adolescence, yet only 15.9% develop PTSD. As such, it is critical to elucidate risk and protective factors associated with PTSD development in trauma-exposed youth in order to tailor clinical and preventative efforts. The current study investigated the association between perceived social support and PTSD symptom severity within a clinically referred sample of trauma-exposed youth. It was hypothesized that PTSD severity would form a positive linear relation with social stress, and a negative linear relation with perceived social support. Additionally, it was hypothesized that experience of direct interpersonal violence (IPV) would be more strongly associated with trauma severity (compared to non-IPV trauma types), and that experience of IPV would weaken the association between perceived social support and PTSD severity. The sample included youth ages 11-18 (N = 38) who were receiving trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) within community mental health settings as part of a large-scale initiative aimed to increase access to evidence-based trauma treatment for underserved youth. At the beginning of treatment, trained research evaluators administered a variety of measures, including the Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children – Third Edition (BASC-3) and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 (CPSS-5-I). Pearson correlations and linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between PTSD severity and social stress, relations with parents, and interpersonal relations. Controlling for gender, social stress formed a significant positive relation with PTSD severity, F(2, 35) = 8.06, p = .001, R² = .32. A moderate negative correlation was found between interpersonal relations with peers and PTSD severity (r = -.45), and linear regression analysis revealed an overall significant model when controlling for gender, F(2, 35 ) = 4.46, p = .019, R²= .20. Relations with parents formed a weak negative correlation with PTSD severity (r = -.15) and was not a significant predictor in the multiple linear regression model (p = .39). Further, when trauma type was included as a moderator, the overall model was significant, F(3, 34) = 3.07, p = .04, R²= .21; however, while there was a significant negative relation between interpersonal relations and PTSD severity among those with IPV trauma type (p = .02), neither trauma type (p = .51) nor the interaction term (p = .92) reached significance in the overall model. Results suggest that greater perceived social stress and lower perceived social support from peers may be cross-sectionally associated with significantly higher PTSD severity within clinical populations of trauma-exposed youth. Additionally, greater perceived social support from peers may be associated with lower PTSD severity for youth who have experienced IPV, but not for other trauma types. These findings hold potential implications for refining preventative programming and interventions for trauma-exposed youth aimed to reduce social stress and improve their perceptions of supportive peer relations.