title: Posttraumatic stress predicting depression and social support among college students: Moderating effects of race and gender.
abstract: More than half of the students entering college report a history of potentially traumatic events; however, little is known about the relationship of trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology to college students' mental health and access to social support or whether these relationships may show variations as a function of race and gender. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the relationships between PTSD symptoms and both depression and social support were moderated by gender and race. Data were collected from 631 African American (AA) and 299 European American (EA) freshmen students attending 2 universities in the Southeast. The majority of the students (74.3% of the AA and 68.2% of the EA sample) reported lifetime exposure to at least 1 traumatic event. PTSD symptomatology was significantly and positively associated with depression symptoms for all groups (i.e., AA and EA males and females); however, the relationship between these 2 variables was strongest for EA men. Similarly, the relationship between PTSD symptoms on the avoidance cluster and social support was stronger for EA males than other groups; avoidance symptoms did not significantly predict social support for AA men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Louisiana Tech University.
authors.forename: Güler
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boyraz
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and School Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston.
authors.forename: Sharon G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Horne
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Tennessee State University.
authors.forename: Aisha P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research, University of Memphis.
authors.forename: Archandria C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Owens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data