Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clínic, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica (FCRB), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Network Centre for Biomedical Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2024;15(1):2398921. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2398921. Epub 2024 Oct 15.
Perceived social support is an established predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after exposure to a traumatic event. Gender is an important factor that could differentiate responses to social support, yet this has been little explored. Symptoms of complex PTSD are also common following trauma but have been under-researched in this context. Large scale studies with culturally diverse samples are particularly lacking. In a multi-country sample, we examined: (a) gender differences in perceived social support and both posttraumatic stress symptom severity (PTSS) and complex posttraumatic stress symptom severity (CPTSS); (b) associations between social support and PTSS/CPTSS; and (c) the potential moderating role of gender in the relationship between perceived social support and trauma-related distress. A total of 2483 adults (= 30yrs, 69.9% females) from 39 countries, who had been exposed to mixed trauma types, completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the International Trauma Questionnaire (which captures PTSS/CPTSS). Regression analyses examined associations between gender, perceived social support, and PTSS/CPTSS; and tested for gender by social support interactions in predicting PTSS/CPTSS scores. Models were adjusted for age and socioeconomic status. In our cross-country sample, females had greater PTSS/CPTSS than males ( = .23 [95% CI 0.16, 0.30], < .001; = .20 [0.12, 0.27], < .001; respectively), but there was no evidence of gender differences in perceived social support ( = .05 [-0.05, 0.16], = .33). For both genders, low perceived social support was associated with higher PTSS/CPTSS (females: = -.16 [-0.20, -0.12], < .001; = -.27 [-0.30, -0.24], < .001; respectively; males: = -.22 [-0.29, -0.15], < .001; = -.31 [-0.36, -0.26], < .001; respectively), and for PTSS only we found weak evidence that this association was stronger for males vs. females ( = .07 [0.04, 0.14, = .04). Individuals who feel more socially supported have lower trauma-related distress, and this association is similar in males and females. PTSD/CPTSD interventions may benefit from augmenting perceived social support, regardless of gender.
在经历创伤事件后，感知到的社会支持是创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的一个既定预测因素。性别是区分社会支持反应的一个重要因素，但这方面的研究还很少。创伤后也常出现复杂 PTSD 症状，但在这种情况下，这些症状的研究还不够充分。特别是在具有文化多样性样本的大规模研究中，这方面的研究尤其缺乏。在一个多国家的样本中，我们研究了：（a）感知到的社会支持以及创伤后应激症状严重程度（PTSS）和复杂创伤后应激症状严重程度（CPTSS）方面的性别差异；（b）社会支持与 PTSS/CPTSS 之间的关联；（c）在感知到的社会支持与与创伤相关的困扰之间的关系中，性别可能起到的调节作用。共有来自 39 个国家的 2483 名成年人（年龄 30 岁，女性占 69.9%），他们接触过多种类型的创伤，完成了多维感知社会支持量表和国际创伤问卷（该问卷可捕获 PTSS/CPTSS）。回归分析检验了性别、感知到的社会支持和 PTSS/CPTSS 之间的关联；并测试了社会支持与创伤相关困扰的预测评分之间的性别交互作用。模型调整了年龄和社会经济地位。在我们的跨国样本中，女性的 PTSS/CPTSS 高于男性（ = .23 [95% CI 0.16, 0.30]， < .001； = .20 [0.12, 0.27]， < .001），但在感知到的社会支持方面没有证据表明存在性别差异（ = .05 [-0.05, 0.16]， = .33）。对于两种性别，低感知到的社会支持与更高的 PTSS/CPTSS 相关（女性： = -.16 [-0.20, -0.12]， < .001； = -.27 [-0.30, -0.24]， < .001）；男性： = -.22 [-0.29, -0.15]， < .001； = -.31 [-0.36, -0.26]， < .001）；仅对于 PTSD，我们发现有微弱的证据表明，这种关联在男性中比女性更强（ = .07 [0.04, 0.14]， = .04）。感觉得到更多社会支持的人，与创伤相关的困扰程度较低，这种关联在男性和女性中是相似的。PTSD/CPTSD 干预措施可能受益于增加感知到的社会支持，而与性别无关。
