Social Surrogate Use in Those Exposed to Trauma: I Get By with a Little Help from My (Fictional) Friends

Abstract

Traumatic events bring an increased need for social connection but paradoxically can make relationships more difficult. The current research examines the unique role social surrogates such as favorite TV shows, books, and celebrities may play in fulfilling the social needs of people who have experienced trauma. Across two studies we predicted and found that experiencing traumatic events is associated with higher interest in using social surrogates. Furthermore, individuals who have experienced trauma without developing PTSD are able to effectively use social surrogates to combat social isolation. However, perhaps because PTSD symptoms often are associated with impaired social functioning, those with PTSD actually feel worse after social surrogate use. Implications for trauma, PTSD, social surrogates, and social self research are discussed.

Perceived Stress, Stigma, Traumatic Stress Levels and Coping Responses amongst Residents in Training across Multiple Specialties during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Longitudinal Study

“…As a trait, some residents may not favor the use of problem solving as a coping strategy, which could have contributed to greater traumatic stress when faced with unprecedented events such as the pandemic. As a state, residents currently experiencing traumatic stress may also rely less on problem solving as a coping strategy, preferring alternatives such as seeking social support, as found in this study [ 19 ]. This could also be a function of the nature of the stressor, as situations that are appraised as being solvable are more likely to induce problem-focused coping, while situations that are appraised as being unchangeable are more likely to induce emotion-focused coping [ 20 ].…”

Parasocial Interaction, the COVID-19 Quarantine, and Digital Age Media

“…For instance, for those who had social challenges such as factors related to cognition (McCutcheon et al 2003 ), anxiety (Cole and Leets 1999 ; Green and Brock 1998 ; Papachrissi and Rubin 2000 ), introversion (Weaver 2003 ), fear of rejection (Derrick et al 2019 ), loneliness (Greenwood and Long 2009 ), or self-esteem (Derrick et al 2008 ), engaging in parasocial behaviors significantly aided some measures of well-being. Another study found PSI helpful for those who had experienced trauma, but not for those post traumatic with stress disorder (Gabriel et al 2017 ). Even anecdotally, the evidence for parasocial processes aiding well-being seems to be everywhere.…”

The potential protective effect of friendship on the association between childhood adversity and psychological distress in adulthood: A retrospective, preliminary, three-wave population-based study

“…The social support deterioration model (Barrera, 1986) suggests that stress erodes one's perception of the availability or effectiveness of social support, which leads to persistent difficulties in forming and maintaining social relationships (Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010;Seeds, Harkness, & Quilty, 2010). However, the need for these relationships is increased among people with these impairments (Gabriel, Read, Young, Bachrach, & Troisi, 2017). The vulnerability-stress model and the stress-sensitisation model suggest that childhood adversity may cause heightened sensitivity to subsequent stressors, which in turn may trigger psychological distress (Danese & McEwen, 2012;Heim et al, 2010).…”