The impact of trauma and social support on posttraumatic stress disorder: A study of New Zealand police officers

Police work often involves traumatic situations and efforts toward the prevention of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) focus on posttrauma variables. Empirical evidence and theories of PTSD suggest the importance of social support as a moderator of the effects of trauma, in particular, emotional support and attitudes to expressing emotions. Five hundred twenty-seven officers of the New Zealand Police responded to a questionnaire to test the hypothesis that social support moderates the effect of traumatic experiences on PTSD symptoms. The prediction that lower social support would be related to higher PTSD scores was supported for social support from peers, supervisors, and outside work, brit nob for negatively expressed support The prediction that these aspects of support would interact with traumatic experiences was supported for attitudes to expressing emotion at work. These findings suggest that there are important types of ongoing social support, from peers in particular, that can be fostered or provided for by organizations. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.