2 - (SYM 16) Intended vs. Enacted Support: The Role of Advice in Trauma Recovery from the Support Provider Perspective

Social support offered by close significant others (CSOs; i.e., family, close friends, romantic partners) is a critical component of trauma recovery and posttraumatic stress (PTSD) prevention. Social support is a multifaceted construct that includes emotional, tangible, and informational forms, each of which may differ in effectiveness. Emotional support is generally associated with more positive outcomes, whereas tangible and informational support, particularly unsolicited advice, may undermine recovery by reducing survivors’ sense of autonomy. Importantly, negative CSO behavior may have a stronger influence on PTSD symptoms than positive support, yet data no social support is rarely collected from CSOs themselves.

This study examined CSOs’ (N = 351) posttrauma support provision experiences using a mixed-methods approach, including a qualitative analysis of brief supportive messages alongside validated collateral and self-report measures. We expected CSOs to report offering emotional support more frequently than tangible or informational support, and for emotionally supportive content to emerge most frequently their supportive messages. Participants were U.S.-based adults recruited via Prolific who completed an online survey.

Though participants reported offering emotional support most often (F(2, 1043) = 120.68, p = .000) as hypothesized, and viewed informational support as the most difficult support type to provide (F(2, 1043) = 118.84, p = .000), 75% of CSOs wrote supportive messages with informational content (advice), while only 32% expressed emotional support. Compared with emotional and tangible support, informational support was associated with CSO perceptions of poorer survivor recovery. These results suggest that CSOs may default to advice-giving, even as they recognize emotional support may be more helpful, highlighting an apparent disconnect between CSOs’ support perceptions and behaviors. This discrepancy highlights a potential intervention target to improve CSO-delivered posttrauma support.