Disruption to pretrauma social support networks considered as a factor in the posttraumatic stress reaction

The research reported in this paper was planned to refine our understanding of the processes through which social relationships may mediate outcome following an encounter with traumatic incident. This study incorporates a cognitive model of the stress response wherein the degree of stress experienced following trauma is a function of the severity of disruption to inner models of the self, of others, and of the world. The theoretical model developed from theoretical considerations and empirical findings suggests that successful recovery following traumatic encounter is facilitated to the degree that the individual remains embedded in a nurturant, pre-trauma social support system, providing both discrete support functions and a more generalized contextual base for the necessary reorganization process. Forty individuals who had encountered traumatic incidents were interviewed in the context of a field study. Each subject completed the following self-report instruments: The Social Support Scale, The Impact of Events Scale, The Purdue PTSD Scale, The Life Experiences Survey, The Hassles Scale, and the Purpose in Life Test. Results of the study support the significance of disruption to the pre-trauma social support system across the pre- to post-trauma interval as a significant factor in the stress response process. Implications of the study for future research activities and clinical interventions to be implemented within an action-research framework are outlined in detail