Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40090969›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2025

Combat exposure, social support, and posttraumatic stress: a longitudinal test of the stress-buffering hypothesis among veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Zoe Bridges-Curry, Samantha J Meckes, Caitlin Fountain, H Ryan Wagner, Patrick S Calhoun, Nathan A Kimbrel, Jared A Rowland, Eric A Dedert, Gabriella T Ponzini, VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup

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Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Zoe Bridges-CurryDurham VA Medical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC, 27705, USA. zoe.bridges-curry@va.gov.
Samantha J MeckesDurham VA Medical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
Caitlin FountainVeterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN)-6 Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness, Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, NC, USA.
H Ryan WagnerVeterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN)-6 Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness, Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, NC, USA.
Patrick S CalhounDurham VA Medical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
Nathan A KimbrelDurham VA Medical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
Jared A RowlandVeterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN)-6 Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness, Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, NC, USA.
Eric A DedertDurham VA Medical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
Gabriella T PonziniDurham VA Medical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup

Funding

HSRD VA CIN 13-410Office of Academic Affiliations, Department of Veterans Affairs 3Q042019COffice of Academic Affiliations, Department of Veterans Affairs TPH 21-000
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWhile social support is widely viewed as a protective factor against posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), few studies have directly tested whether social support buffers the long-term effects of pre-existing PTSD symptoms or baseline combat exposure among Veterans (i.e., the stress-buffering hypothesis).

methodsTo address this gap, the current study tested perceived social support as a moderator of the effects of baseline PTSD symptoms and combat exposure on PTSD symptoms at 10-year follow up in a sample of post-911 Veterans (N = 783).

resultsHigher levels of combat exposure and baseline PTSD symptoms predicted elevated PTSD symptoms at 10-year follow-up. Perceived social support moderated these effects, such that the impacts of baseline symptoms and combat exposure were attenuated for Veterans with high levels of perceived support. However, buffering effects were less evident at higher levels of combat exposure and were not significant at very high levels of baseline PTSD symptoms.

conclusionWhile findings are broadly consistent with the stress-buffering hypothesis, results of the present study suggest that the benefits of perceived social support may be less evident at higher levels of combat exposure. Results also offer preliminary evidence that perceived social support is less protective for Veterans with severe pre-existing symptoms.

Indexed as

Combat DisordersIraq War, 2003-2011Social SupportStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticStress, PsychologicalVeteransAdultAfghan Campaign 2001-FemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedUnited StatesCombatPTSDSocial supportVeterans

Identifiers

PMID40090969

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