title: Social support and posttraumatic stress disorder among flood victims in Hunan, China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuidong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Hongzhuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Abuaku
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Shiwu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Aizhong
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Shuoqi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Tubao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yanbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Gangqian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*