title: Social integration buffers stress in New York police after the 9/11 terrorist attack.
abstract: Being socially integrated is regarded as a protective factor enabling people to cope with adversity. The stress-buffering effect reflects an interaction between stress and a social coping resource factor on subsequent outcomes. This study, based on 2943 police officers, examines mental health outcomes among officers who responded to the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The Wave 1 data collection took place between September 2003 and November 2004 with a follow-up study (Wave 2) conducted from November 2006 through December 2007. A moderated mediation model was specified that uses event exposure as a distal predictor, earlier stress response as a mediator, and later stress response as an outcome, and social integration as a moderator of this relationship. The mediation hypothesis was confirmed, and moderation occurred at two stages. First, there was a multiplicative relationship between exposure levels and social integration: The higher the exposure level, the more stress responses occur, but this effect was buffered by a high level of social integration. Second, Wave 1 stress interacted with social integration on Wave 2 stress: The more the police officers were socially integrated, the lower the Wave 2 stress, which happened in a synergistic manner. The findings contribute to the understanding of mediating and moderating mechanisms that result in health outcomes such as posttraumatic stress disorder or resilience.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin , Germany.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwarzer
authors.forename: Rosemarie M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Bowler
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cone
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D016495:Police; D011594:Psychometrics; D012042:Registries; D047851:September 11 Terrorist Attacks / Q000523:psychology*; D012933:Social Identification; D012944:Social Support; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires