The following is a summary of “Social support utilization’s effect on post-traumatic stress symptoms: a Danish cross-sectional study of 383 ambulance personnel,” published in the July 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Melander et al.

While social support is known to play a crucial role in preventing mental illness, the impact of various types of social support on post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among ambulance personnel remains underexplored.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating whether the number of social support types used predicts PTSS in ambulance personnel and exploring if social support utilization moderates the impact of critical event frequency on PTSS.

They included validated questionnaires completed by 383 ambulance personnel. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses examined the relationship between traumatic exposure frequency, social support utilization, and PTSS as the outcome variable.

The result showed a higher number of utilized social support types was linked to increased levels of PTSS (β = 0.15, P<.001). Social support utilization significantly moderated the relationship between exposure frequency to critical incidents and PTSS, showing a positive interaction effect (β = 0.26, P=.049). Of the participants, 307 had used 2 or 3 types of informal support in the past year, while 81 had used 2 or 3 formal support.

Investigators concluded that evaluating multiple concurrent social support types was crucial for understanding the effects of PTSS among ambulance personnel.

Source: frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1425254/full