Social bonds and posttraumatic stress disorder

Anthony Charuvastra, Marylene Cloitre

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Retrospective and prospective studies consistently show that individuals exposed to human-generated traumatic events carry a higher risk of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than those exposed to other kinds of events. These studies also consistently identify perceptions of social support both before and after a traumatic event as an important factor in the determining vulnerability to the development of PTSD. We review the literature on interpersonal traumas, social support and risk for PTSD and integrate findings with recent advances in developmental psychopathology, attachment theory and social neuroscience. We propose and gather evidence for what we term the social ecology of PTSD, a conceptual framework for understanding how both PTSD risk and recovery are highly dependent on social phenomena. We explore clinical implications of this conceptual framework.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAnnual Review of Psychology
EditorsSusan Fiske, Daniel Schacter, Robert Sternberg
Pages301-328
Number of pages28
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Publication series

NameAnnual Review of Psychology
Volume59
ISSN (Print)0066-4308

Keywords

  • Anxiety disorders
  • Attachment
  • PTSD
  • Social neuroscience
  • Social support

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Social bonds and posttraumatic stress disorder'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this