Social support following a natural disaster: A longitudinal study of survivors of the 2013 Lushan earthquake in China

•Greater quality of support received predicted lower levels of symptoms of posttraumatic stress and psychological distress.•Quantity of received social support did not predict of symptoms of posttraumatic stress or psychological distress.•These results were still robust when controlled for gender, negative life events and family financial status.•What appears to be critical in the process of supporting disaster survivors is the quality, not necessarily the quantity, of support provided.