TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Self-compassion reduces posttraumatic stress symptom severity in hurricane survivors via perceived social support
JO  - Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy
A1  - Allen, Ashley Batts
A1  - Littleton, Heather
A1  - Bistricky, Steve
A1  - Benson, Kayla
A1  - Cox, Tyler
A1  - Benight, Charles C.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVE: Following disasters such as hurricanes, self-compassion (e.g., being understanding and showing care toward oneself) can be a valuable personal resource that facilitates social support and reduces posttraumatic symptoms. As a result of their increased connection to other people and interpersonal competence, self-compassionate people may perceive more social support following a traumatic event, which in turn reduces posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The present study is the first to utilize a longitudinal design and latent variable modeling to test this mediation hypothesis. <br><br>METHOD: A three-wave longitudinal design was utilized to assess hurricane exposure, self-compassion, perceived social support, and PTSS in hurricane survivors at baseline (T1), 3-month (T2), and 6-month (T3) follow-up. Participants at T1 included 261 hurricane survivors (88.5% women) who were racially diverse and particularly vulnerable to loss of resources (53.2% with an income of less than $30,000). Participants were recruited using online, print, and face-to-face methods, and all survey responses were completed online. <br><br>RESULTS: Participants reported high hurricane stressor exposure (M = 9.14 serious stressors out of a possible 24). Controlling for hurricane exposure, self-compassion at T1 predicted PTSS at T3, and this was mediated by perceived social support at T2. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Following hurricane exposure, self-compassionate people experience less PTSS over time because they perceive their social support resources to be more robust. Implementation of self-compassion education and training following a disaster could improve perceived social support networks that provide an additional protective factor against PTSS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1942-9681
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0001630
ID  - ref1
ER  -