Job stress and family social behavior: The moderating role of neuroticism.

We investigated the role of neuroticism in the associations between job stress and working adults' social behavior during the first hour after work with their spouse and school-age children. Thirty dual-earner families were videotaped in their homes on two weekday afternoons and evenings. An observational coding system was developed to assess behavioral involvement and negative emotion expression. Participants also completed self-report measures of job stressors and trait neuroticism. There were few overall associations between job stress and social behavior during the first hour adults were at home with their spouse and school-age children. However, significant moderator effects indicated that linkages between work experiences and family behavior varied for men who reported different levels of trait neuroticism, which captures a dispositional tendency toward emotional instability. Among men who reported high neuroticism, job stress was linked to more active and more negative social behavior. Conversely, for men reporting low neuroticism, job stress was related to less talking and less negative emotion. These patterns were not found for the women in the study. The findings suggest that when work is stressful, men who are higher on neuroticism (i.e., less emotionally stable) may show a negative spillover effect, whereas men who are lower on neuroticism (i.e., more emotionally stable) may withdraw from social interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating roles of self-esteem and neuroticism in the relationship between group and individual undermining behavior.

The authors developed and tested a multilevel interactive model of the relationship between group undermining and individual undermining behavior in 2 multiwave studies of group members. Integrating the literature on group influences on individual behavior with the individual difference literature, the authors predicted a 3-way Group Undermining × Self-Esteem × Neuroticism interaction, such that the relationship between group and individual undermining would be strongest among those simultaneously high in self-esteem and neuroticism. The 3-way interaction was supported in Study 1 (457 participants in 103 groups) and replicated in Study 2 (415 participants in 93 groups) with additional controls and alternative measures of key constructs. The authors discuss the implications of the research and identify future research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hurricane-related exposure experiences and stressors, other life events, and social support: Concurrent and prospective impact on children's persistent posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Objective: We investigated the influence of hurricane exposure, stressors occurring during the hurricane and recovery period, and social support on children's persistent posttraumatic stress (PTS). Method: Using a 2-wave, prospective design, we assessed 384 children (54% girls; mean age = 8.74 years) 9 months posthurricane, and we reassessed 245 children 21 months posthurricane. Children completed measures of exposure experiences, social support, hurricane-related stressors, life events, and PTS symptoms. Results: At Time 1, 35% of the children reported moderate to very severe levels of PTS symptoms; at Time 2, this reduced to 29%. Hurricane-related stressors influenced children's persistent PTS symptoms and the occurrence of other life events, which in turn also influenced persistent PTS symptoms. The cascading effects of hurricane stressors and other life events disrupted children's social support over time, which further influenced persistent PTS symptoms. Social support from peers buffered the impact of disaster exposure on children's PTS symptoms. Conclusions: The effects of a destructive hurricane on children's PTS symptoms persisted almost 2 years after the storm. The factors contributing to PTS symptoms are interrelated in complex ways. The findings suggest a need to close the gap between interventions delivered in the immediate and short-term aftermath and those delivered 2 years or more postdisaster. Such interventions might focus on helping children manage disaster-related stressors and other life events as well as bolstering children's support systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding factors associated with early therapeutic alliance in PTSD treatment: Adherence, childhood sexual abuse history, and social support.

Objective: Therapeutic alliance has been associated with better treatment engagement, better adherence, and less dropout across various treatments and disorders. In treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it may be particularly important to establish a strong early alliance to facilitate treatment adherence. However, factors such as childhood sexual abuse (CSA) history and poor social support may impede the development of early alliance in those receiving PTSD treatment. We sought to examine treatment adherence, CSA history, and social support as factors associated with early alliance in individuals with chronic PTSD who were receiving either prolonged exposure therapy (PE) or sertraline. Method: At pretreatment, participants (76.6% female; 64.9% Caucasian; mean age = 37.1 years, SD = 11.3) completed measures of trauma history, general support (Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors), and trauma-related social support (Social Reactions Questionnaire). Over the course of 10 weeks of PE or sertraline, they completed early therapeutic alliance (Working Alliance Inventory) and treatment adherence measures. Results: Early alliance was associated with PE adherence (r = .32, p     

Agreement of parent and child reports of trauma exposure and symptoms in the early aftermath of a traumatic event.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 2(4) of Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy (see record 2010-22173-001). The article contained an incorrect DOI. The correct DOI is as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0019156. The online version has been corrected.] [Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in of Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy (see record 2010-22173-001). The article contained an incorrect DOI. The correct DOI is as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0019156. The online version has been corrected.] Exposure to violence and potentially traumatic events (PTEs) is a common experience among children and youth. The assessment of necessary intervention relies upon parental acknowledgment of exposure and recognition of their child's distress. Early interventions and treatment are most effective when parents are aware of the nature of the traumatic exposure, understand their child's symptomatic response, and are intimately involved in the treatment process. The present study investigated concordance between parents and exposed children on child trauma history, the subjective report of the impact of the traumas experienced, and presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Agreement between parent and child report of traumas experienced was nonsignificant for serious accidents, separation from significant others, and physical assaults. Nonsignificant agreement was also found for avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD. Correlations were not significant between parent and child report of the impact of traumas both at the time of the incident and at the time of the interview. Recommendations are suggested for helping parents improve their capacity to understand the potential impact of exposure on the child's psychological functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching trauma-focused exposure therapy for PTSD: Critical clinical lessons for novice exposure therapists.

Over the past 10 years, our experiences delivering exposure therapy and teaching clinicians to deliver exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have taught us some important lessons. We will focus on lessons learned as we have attended to clinicians' experiences as they begin to implement and apply the therapy. Specifically, we highlight common therapist expectations including the beliefs that the exposure therapy requires a new set of clinical skills, therapists themselves will experience a high level of distress hearing about traumatic events, and clients will become overly distressed. We then discuss common clinical challenges in the delivery of exposure therapy and illustrate them with case examples. The challenges addressed include finding the appropriate level of therapist involvement in session, handling client distress during treatment, targeting in-session covert avoidance, and helping the client shift from being trauma-focused to being more present and future oriented. Clinicians training exposure therapists and therapists new to the implementation of exposure therapy for PTSD should find this practical discussion of common expectations and initial clinical challenges reassuring and clinically useful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood physical abuse, attachment, and adult social support: Test of a mediational model.

This study examined the mediating role of attachment on the relationship between childhood physical abuse and perceived social support in adulthood. The 2 underlying dimensions of attachment, view of self and view of other, were both hypothesized to be potential mediators. Young adults, with and without a history of childhood physical abuse, completed a series of questionnaires inquiring about past abuse experiences and current levels of attachment and social support. Results indicated a robust mediational effect. Namely, both attachment variables were significant mediators in the relationship between childhood physical abuse and social support. In addition, the mediation occurred across all sources of social support, that is, social support from family/close friends, peers, and authority figures. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The importance of the peritraumatic experience in defining traumatic stress.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev., DSM–IV–TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Criterion A2 stipulates that an individual must experience intense fear, helplessness, or horror during an event that threatened the life or physical integrity of oneself or others to be eligible for the PTSD diagnosis. In considering this criterion, we describe its origins, review studies that have examined its predictive validity, and reflect on the intended purpose of the criterion and how it complements the mission of the DSM. We then assert that the predictive validity of Criterion A2 may not be an appropriate metric for evaluating its worth. We also note that the current Criterion A2 may not fully capture all the salient aspects of the traumatic stress response. To support this claim, we review empirical research showing that individuals adapt to extreme environmental events by responding in a complex and coordinated manner. This complex response set involves an individual's appraisal regarding the degree to which the event taxes his or her resources, as well as a range of other cognitions (e.g., dissociation), felt emotions (e.g., fear), physiological reactions (e.g., heart rate increase), and behaviors (e.g., tonic immobility). We provide evidence that these response components may be associated with the subsequent development of PTSD. We then describe the challenges associated with accurately assessing an individual's traumatic stress response. We conclude with a discussion of the need to consider the individual's immediate response when defining a traumatic stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disasters and youth: A meta-analytic examination of posttraumatic stress.

Objective: Meta-analyze the literature on posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in youths post-disaster. Method: Meta-analytic synthesis of the literature (k = 96 studies; Ntotal = 74,154) summarizing the magnitude of associations between disasters and youth PTS, and key factors associated with variations in the magnitude of these associations. We included peer-reviewed studies published prior to 1/1/2009 that quantitatively examined youth PTS (≤18 years at event) after a distinct and identifiable disaster. Results: Despite variability across studies, disasters had a significant effect on youth PTS (small-to-medium magnitude; rpooled = .19, SEr = .03; d = 0.4). Female gender (rpooled = .14), higher death toll (disasters of death toll ≤25: rpooled = .09; vs. disasters with ≥1,000 deaths: rpooled = .22), child proximity (rpooled = .33), personal loss (rpooled = .16), perceived threat (rpooled = .34), and distress (rpooled = .38) at time of event were each associated with increased PTS. Studies conducted within 1 year post-disaster, studies that used established measures, and studies that relied on child-report data identified a significant effect. Conclusion: Youths are vulnerable to appreciable PTS after disaster, with pre-existing child characteristics, aspects of the disaster experience, and study methodology each associated with variations in the effect magnitude. Findings underscore the importance of measurement considerations in post-disaster research. Areas in need of research include the long-term impact of disasters, disaster-related media exposure, prior trauma and psychopathology, social support, ethnicity/race, prejudice, parental psychopathology, and the effects of disasters in developing regions of the world. Policy and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The posttraumatic growth path: An emerging model for prevention and treatment of trauma-related behavioral health conditions.

The aim of this study is threefold. First, the current evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are reviewed. Treatments reviewed for efficacy include prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Next, concepts identified as protective measures against chronic PTSD are explored, with particular emphasis on resiliency and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Third, based on the abovementioned systematic review, a new treatment model for trauma-related behavioral health conditions, the posttraumatic growth path (PTGP), is proposed. This research will demonstrate how this new model integrates a variety of therapeutic approaches and protective measures to treat and mitigate the development of chronic PTSD and other concomitant mental health concerns. Implications for practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol consumption and workplace absenteeism: The moderating effect of social support.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 95(3) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2010-09357-014). the R-square estimates for models 4 and 5 of Table 2 on page 343 are incorrectly reported. The correct R-square values are .10 for both of these models (instead of .010). All the other values reported in this table are correct.] Although it is commonly assumed that alcohol consumption has a significant impact on employee absenteeism, the nature of the alcohol–absence relationship remains poorly understood. Proposing that alcohol impairment likely serves as a key mechanism linking drinking and work absence, we posit that this relationship is likely governed less by the amount of alcohol consumed and more by the way it is consumed. Using a prospective study design and a random sample of urban transit workers, we found that the frequency of heavy episodic drinking over the previous month is positively associated with the number of days of absence recorded in the subsequent 12-month period, whereas modal consumption (a metric capturing the typical amount of alcohol consumed in a given period of time) is not. In addition, consistent with both volitional treatments of absenteeism and social exchange theory, perceived coworker support was found to attenuate, and supervisory support to amplify, the link between the frequency of heavy episodic drinking and absenteeism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture and social support.

Social support is one of the most effective means by which people can cope with stressful events. Yet little research has examined whether there are cultural differences in how people utilize their social support networks. A review of studies on culture and social support presents evidence that Asians and Asian Americans are more reluctant to explicitly ask for support from close others than are European Americans because they are more concerned about the potentially negative relational consequences of such behaviors. Asians and Asian Americans are more likely to use and benefit from forms of support that do not involve explicit disclosure of personal stressful events and feelings of distress. Discussion centers on the potential implications of these findings for intercultural interactions and for the use of mental health services by Asians and Asian Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations among perceptions of social support, negative affect, and quality of sleep in caregivers and noncaregivers.

The authors used structural equation modeling to examine associations among perceptions of negative affect, social support, and quality of sleep in a sample of caregivers (n = 175) and noncaregiver control participants (n = 169). The authors hypothesized that caregiver status would be related to sleep quality directly and also indirectly by way of negative affect and social support. This hypothesis was partially supported in that caregiving was found to be indirectly related to sleep quality. However, after accounting for the indirect effects of negative affect and social support, the direct effect of caregiving on sleep quality was no longer statistically significant. The structural model accounted for approximately 43% of the variance in sleep quality. The present findings may be useful in the development of successful sleep interventions for caregivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction of social skill and organizational support on job performance.

The present study examined the moderating effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on the relationship between social skill and supervisor-rated job performance. On the basis of regulatory and activation models of behavior, the authors argue that low-POS environments activate social skill because they reflect situations in which interpersonal acuity is required to demonstrate effective job performance. Accordingly, the authors hypothesize that social skill is more strongly related to performance among workers reporting low rather than high levels of organizational support. Results of hierarchical moderated multiple regression analyses on data gathered from 2 samples support the hypothesis. These results suggest that the relevance of social skill to job performance may be dependent on contextual cues. Implications for substantive research, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social exclusion in trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often experience or report social stigmatization and isolation. Williams (2001) provided an experimental paradigm to assess behavioral effects of social exclusion. This paradigm (face-to-face version) has been applied in a 2 × 2 group × experimental condition design. Participants in the PTSD group (N = 16) and the nontraumatized control group (N = 25) were randomly assigned to an exclusion or inclusion condition. The results showed interaction effects for main psychopathological assessments (depression, anxiety, psychoticism) and expected main effects for the majority of outcome measures (psychopathology, well-being, belonging, and meaningful existence). The research concludes that a general assumption of elevated levels of self-perceived social exclusion in PTSD patients has to be considered in terms of differentiated psychopathological effects of exclusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective test of the negative affect model of substance abuse: Moderating effects of social support.

The authors tested whether dimensions of negative affect--specifically, trait levels of negative emotionality and state levels of depressive symptoms--increased risk for substance abuse onset and whether perceived social support moderated this relation using data from a 5-year prospective study of 496 school-recruited adolescent girls. Initial negative emotionality, but not depressive symptoms, and deficits in parental, but not peer, support predicted future substance abuse onset in a multivariate hazard model. Tests of the interaction between negative affect dimensions and social support suggested that support did not moderate the relation of negative affect to risk for substance abuse onset. Results provide prospective support for the etiological role in the onset of substance abuse of trait-linked negative affect and of parental support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational stress and failures of social support: When helping hurts.

Research, theory, and practice generally assume that contact with others, often characterized as social support, is beneficial to the recipient. The current study, however, explores the possibility that workplace social interactions, even if intended to be helpful, can sometimes be harmful. University employees (N = 403) completed an online survey examining three types of potentially supportive interactions with other people in the workplace that might be harmful: Interactions that make the person focus on how stressful the workplace is, help that makes the recipient feel inadequate or incompetent, and help that is unwanted. Results suggest that these types of social interactions at work were indeed likely to be related to worse rather than to improved psychological and physical health. The most potentially harmful forms of these three social interactions were those that drew the person’s attention to stress in the workplace. These results indicate that in some instances social interactions, even if ostensibly helpful, may be harmful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mental health costs and benefits of giving social support.

Is giving support neutral, beneficial or costly to mental health? The authors identified 2 types of support--companionship and help--and conceptualized their provision as emotional labor. Companionship involves showing care to people, building feelings of happiness, pride, and belonging, whereas help involves assisting with feelings of distress, anger, and conflict and is potentially much more stressful. Using survey data (N=398), the authors found that companionship and help showed opposite associations with support givers' mental health; companionship was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, whereas help was associated with more. Social support helps recipients cope with stress and distress, but it may also affect people who give it, with consequences depending on the type of support given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Posttraumatic intrusion, avoidance, and social functioning: A 20-year longitudinal study.

The study assesses posttraumatic intrusion, avoidance, and social functioning among 214 Israeli combat veterans from the first Lebanon War with and without combat stress reaction (CSR) 1, 2, 3, and 20 years after the war. CSR veterans reported higher intrusion and avoidance than did non-CSR veterans. With time, there was a decline in these symptoms. In addition, intrusion and avoidance were associated with problems in social functioning on a given year, and they longitudinally predicted social dysfunction 2, 3, and 20 years after the war. CSR veterans presented stronger temporal covariations between intrusion-avoidance and social functioning. The findings suggest that CSR is a marker for future psychopathology and point to the role of avoidance in social dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)