Protective Factors, Coping Appraisals, and Social Barriers Predict Mental Health Following Community Violence: A Prospective Test of Social Cognitive Theory

Abstract

This study tested social cognitive theory of posttraumatic adaptation in the context of mass violence, hypothesizing that pre-event protective factors (general self-efficacy and perceived social support) would reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression severity through boosting post-event coping self-efficacy appraisals (mediator). We qualified hypotheses by predicting that post-event social support barriers would disrupt (moderate) the health-promoting indirect effects of pre-event protective factors. With a prospective longitudinal sample, we employed path models with bootstrapping resampling to test hypotheses. Participants included 70 university students (71.4% female; 40.0% White; 34.3% Asian; 14.3% Hispanic) enrolled during a mass violence event who completed surveys one year pre-event and 5-6 months post-event. Results revealed significant large effects in predicting coping self-efficacy (mastery model, R = .34; enabling model, R = .36), PTSS (mastery model, R = .35; enabling model, R = .41), and depression severity (mastery model, R = .43; enabling model, R = .46). Overall findings supported study hypotheses, showing that at low levels of post-event social support barriers, pre-event protective factors reduced distress severity through boosting coping self-efficacy. However, as post-event social support barriers increased, the indirect, distress-reducing effects of pre-event protective factors were reduced to nonsignificance. Study implications focus on preventative and responsive intervention.

Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample

“…In a previous publication, we demonstrated that a substantial number of survivors and bereaved in the current sample, even after 26 years, entertained vivid thoughts about the disaster and what could have happened, which may be at odds with the expectations of significant others 38 . Additionally, the victims may refrain from taking advantage of the social support available, sometimes because they fear that others will perceive them as weak or because they think they will overburden their friends and families 6 , 39 , 40 . In addition, family and friends may feel uncomfortable or find it difficult to relate to the victims, withdrawing from them as a result 41 .…”

“… 38 Additionally, the victims may refrain from taking advantage of the social support available, sometimes because they fear that others will perceive them as weak or because they think they will overburden their friends and families. 6 , 39 , 40 In addition, family and friends may feel uncomfortable or find it difficult to relate to the victims, withdrawing from them as a result. 41 This study is the first to indicate that social support deterioration may last for decades and proposes that even though social support can be considered a protective factor in the initial phase after a trauma, social support is also a long-term outcome in itself.…”

Social cognitive mechanisms in healthcare worker resilience across time during the pandemic

“…Beyond engaging with fellow healthcare workers, engagement in support with non-healthcare workers may also be critical, and can be pursued based on shared meaning and stressful pandemic experiences that transcend work environments (e.g., parenting stressors; school stressors; scarcity of resources; loss of routine; increase in stress/tension at home; grief and loss). Such diversity of support options is likely to be critical across time [ 81 ], as professional identity is not the only valid or healthy source of identity, meaning, or connection. Our multitude of roles (mother, father, sister, brother, parent, child, hobbies from which we derive identity capital) each offer inroads to sharing experiences and extracting support in meaningful ways that can promote resilience and well-being.…”

No buffer effect of perceived social support for people exposed to violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional community study

“…If the social support network is low on resources, or the individual perceives these resources to be limited, barriers to seeking support may arise, such as a reluctance to overburden friends and family due to the feeling that they have enough to cope with already or that they would not understand. Such social support barriers have been found to have strong associations with psychological distress in previous trauma samples (Smith, Felix, Benight, & Jones, 2017 ; Thoresen, Jensen, Wentzel-Larsen, & Dyb, 2014 ). A weak existing social network may be difficult to maintain and access digitally and may not be able to provide a buffering function during the pandemic.…”