The Deterioration and Mobilization Effects of Trauma on Social Support: Childhood Maltreatment and Adulthood Military Violence in a Palestinian Community Sample

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2005-04, Vol.29 (4), p.351-373
• Main Authors: Punamaki, Raija-Leena, Komproe, Ivan, Qouta, Samir, El-Masri, Mustafa, de Jong, J. T. V. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Child Abuse; Mental Illness; Military Personnel; Palestinians; Social Support; Trauma; Victims; Violence
• ISSN: 0145-2134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.010.011

Objectives: To show that exposure to childhood maltreatment deteriorates, whereas exposure to adulthood military violence mobilizes social support; Second, to show that associations between traumatic events & mental health problems are mediated through social support &, subsequently, adulthood military violence is associated with low level & childhood maltreatment with high level of mental health symptoms; third, to explore whether the moderating (protecting) effect of sufficient & satisfactory social support would differ among victims of childhood maltreatment & adulthood military violence. Method: The participants were a random-sample of Palestinian men & women (n = 585) of 16-60 years of age. Exposure to military violence in adulthood was assessed by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ_I), & to childhood maltreatment by a 13-item questionnaire developed for the study. A Social Network Schedule was applied to assess the function, source, & satisfaction with social support, & the Revised SCL90-R Symptoms Checklist to assess mental health symptoms. Results: Findings supported our hypothesis that exposure to childhood maltreatment was associated with low levels of social support, whereas exposure to adulthood military violence was associated with high levels of social support. Contrary to our second hypothesis, both childhood maltreatment & adulthood military violence were associated with high levels of mental health symptoms. Finally, high level & satisfactory social support moderated the association between exposure to military violence in adulthood & mental health symptoms, but not between childhood maltreatment & mental health symptoms. Conclusion: The findings emphasize that the nature of trauma, that is, whether familial or political, determines the availability of protective resources versus vulnerability, which should be considered when tailoring interventions to trauma victims. 6 Tables, 3 Figures, 81 References. [Copyright 2005 Elsevier Ltd.]