Social support and posttraumatic stress disorder among flood victims in Hunan, China

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among flood victims. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2000 among individuals who had suffered floods in 1998 in Hunan, China. Multistage sampling was used to select the subjects from the flood-affected areas. PTSD was diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, and social support was measured according to a social support rating scale. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the relationship between social support and PTSD. RESULTS: Out of a total of 25,478 subjects interviewed, 2336 (9.7%) were diagnosed as having PTSD. PTSD was significantly associated with total social support (odds ratio [OR] 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.82), subjective support (OR 0.48, 95%CI, 0.44-0.52), and support utilization (OR 0.53, 95%CI, 0.49-0.57). CONCLUSION: PTSD in flood victims is significantly associated with social support; subjective support and support utilization may play more important roles in mitigating the impact of flood than objective support.