ArticleJournal of affective disorders2020
The impact of prolonged exposure therapy on social support and PTSD symptoms.
Article in Journal of affective disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Innovative virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Effects on Cardiovascular Physiology: A Systematic Review and Agenda for Future Research.Journal of traumatic stress · 2021Pooled it
- Assessing the Impact of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Video Games on Improving Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingPooled it
- Prolonged Exposure and Sertraline Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Also Improve Multiple Indicators of Social Functioning.Journal of traumatic stress · 2020Trial
- The Moderating Role of Social and Emotional Support in the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental Health Across Racial Groups: the Need for Investing in Social Capital.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Social support and post-traumatic stress symptoms: Longitudinal bidirectional relationships in the AURORA study.Journal of mood and anxiety disorders · 2026Article
- The relationship between perceived social support and post-traumatic stress disorder in Jordanian women experiencing intimate partner violence.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Biomarkers and Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Susceptibility and Resilience to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Review
- The Role of Virtual Reality in Personalized Medicine: Advancing Prediction, Prevention, and Participation.Journal of medical systems · 2025Review
- Trauma, adversity, and biological aging: behavioral mechanisms relevant to treatment and theory.Translational psychiatry · 2024Review
- Posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and accelerated biological aging among post-9/11 veterans.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Use of Virtual Reality Techniques to Rehabilitate Military Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Review).Sovremennye tekhnologii v meditsine · 2023Review
- Table for two: Perceptions of social support from participants in a weight management intervention for veterans with PTSD and overweight or obesity.Psychological services · 2022Article
- Review
- Examining the role of social support in treatment for co-occurring substance use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder.Addictive behaviors reports · 2022Article
- A Public Health Perspective of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Exploring links between Chinese military recruits' psychological stress and coping style from the person-environment fit perspective: The chain mediating effect of self-efficacy and social support.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) results in high costs to society, particularly among military personnel. Much is known about PTSD treatments-such as exposure therapies-and their outcomes, but less is known about how treatment might impact social support and PTSD symptoms over the course of treatment.
methodsIn the current study, soldiers with PTSD (N = 162) were randomized to complete prolonged exposure therapy (either with or without virtual reality) or a waitlist control condition. We examined the impact of treatment on perceived social support as a secondary treatment outcome, as well as the associations between social support and PTSD symptoms over time.
resultsExposure therapy increased perceived social support at the end of treatment compared to waitlist control, β = 0.43, 95% CI [0.13, 0.73]. Multigroup structural equation modeling using a cross-lagged panel design provided evidence that perceived social support was an antecedent of PTSD symptom improvement for participants engaging in treatment, but not for participants in the waitlist control. Treatment effects on change in PTSD symptoms was mediated by change in perceived social support (B = 1.10, 95% CI [0.20, 3.05]). LIMITATIONS: The results should be considered in light of limitations, including the characteristics of the sample of active duty soldiers, the measurement of social support, and missingess over the course of the study.
conclusionsThese results suggest that increased perceived social support is a secondary outcome of exposure therapy and may be one pathway through which treatment reduces PTSD symptoms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.