Social Support, Social Isolation and Mastery Among Adults Exposed to Traumatic Events

The present study aims to investigate the association of functional social support, social isolation and mastery with PTSD among adults exposed to interpersonal violence versus non-interpersonal events. Data were drawn from a large cross-sectional survey conducted in four French regions in a representative sample of 22,138 adults. This study used the subsample of adults exposed to any lifetime traumatic event (n = 4,445), either to interpersonal violence (n = 2,987) or to non-interpersonal events (n = 1,458). Lifetime exposure to traumatic events and past-year DSM-IV PTSD were assessed using the CIDI-SF. Perceived functional social support, social isolation and mastery were also assessed. Results support a main effect of a poor sense of mastery and social isolation as well as an interaction between these two factors on the risk of 12-month PTSD among adults exposed to both types of traumatic events. Individuals exposed to interpersonal violence were at higher risk of PTSD when reporting not having a confidant, no one who cares about them, and no one to count on when making important decisions. The results may underline the importance of considering simultaneously social support components and mastery as their interrelation might play a role in the outcomes of a potentially traumatic event exposure.