The impact of social support and morally injurious events on PTSD symptoms in Veterans

Kelly L Harper; Melinda A Stanley; Julie J Exline; Kenneth I Pargament; Terri L Fletcher; Ellen J Teng

doi:10.1080/08995605.2020.1760684

The impact of social support and morally injurious events on PTSD symptoms in Veterans

Mil Psychol. 2020 Jul 28;32(4):352-362. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2020.1760684. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Kelly L Harper^{1

2}, Melinda A Stanley^{1

2

3}, Julie J Exline⁴, Kenneth I Pargament⁵, Terri L Fletcher^{1

6}, Ellen J Teng^{1

6

3}

Affiliations

¹ Michael E. DeBakey Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina.
² Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina.
³ Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
⁴ Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.
⁶ Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Abstract

Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs), including committing transgressions (Transgressions-Self) and perceiving betrayals, have been positively associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A proposed mechanism for the association between PMIEs and PTSD symptoms is social disconnection. However, research on PMIEs and social disconnection is limited. Secondary data analysis from a larger study examined the moderating role of different sources of perceived social support (Family, Friends, and Significant Other) on the relation between PMIEs (Transgressions-Self and Betrayal) and PTSD. The interaction of Transgressions-Self and perceived social support subscales did not predict PTSD symptoms. However, the interaction of Betrayals and perceived social support (Significant Other and Family) predicted PTSD symptoms. Results suggest that perceived social support provides a protective effect for low to mean levels of perceived betrayals; however, for Veterans reporting high levels of betrayal, perceived social support did not attenuate PTSD symptom severity. Additional research on perceived betrayals and the association with PTSD is needed, especially for Veterans who experience high levels of perceived betrayals.

Keywords: Morally injurious events; Veterans; perceived social support; posttraumatic stress disorder.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by grant funding from the John Templeton Foundation, Grant 36094. This material is also based upon work supported in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Affairs HSR&D Houston Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (CIN13-413). The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, position, or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Baylor College of Medicine, or the United States government.