Like a bridge over troubled water? A longitudinal study of general social support, colleague support, and leader support as recovery factors after a traumatic event

ABSTRACT

Background: Whereas the association between social support and psychological distress has been well-established through both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, less is known about whether social support influences rate of change in psychological distress over time. Nor is it clear whether social support predicts baseline psychological distress, or, more importantly, whether social support may contribute to more rapid recovery following trauma exposure.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the extent to which social support contributed to the recovery process among individuals with psychological distress after being exposed to trauma.

Methods: Prospective survey data from ministry employees were collected 10, 22, and 34 months after the 2011 Oslo bombing that targeted the governmental quarters. We explored recovery in a clinical subsample (N = 238) of individuals with elevated levels of psychological distress (defined as mean 10-item Hopkins symptom checklist score > 1.85) one year after the event. A linear latent growth curve of psychological distress with general social support from friends and family, colleague support, and leader support as predictors was examined.

Results: High levels of general social support and leader support were independently associated with a more rapid decline in psychological distress over time.

Conclusions: General social support, as well as support from a leader in one’s working life, may facilitate recovery from psychological distress after exposure to a traumatic event. Enhancing social support from family and friends, as well as in work settings, may benefit those with psychological distress following a traumatic workplace event.

KEYWORDS:

• Trauma
• terrorism
• psychological distress
• growth curve analysis
• LGM

Highlights of the article

• High levels of social support is related to low levels of psychological distress.

• This study investigates whether high levels of social support is related to change in psychological distress over time.

• High social support is related to faster recovery from high psychological distress after trauma.

• Leader support is of importance beyond the general social support from family and friends.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project has been financially supported by the Norwegian Directorate of Health, the Research Council of Norway [grant number: 227039] the Norwegian Council of Mental Health and the Norwegian Extra Foundation for Health and Rehabilitation through EXTRAfunds [grant number: 2.13/2/0021]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.