title: Family, friends, and 12-month PTSD among African Americans.
abstract: Despite a growing literature on the influence of social support on mental health, little is known about the relationship between social support and specific psychiatric disorders for African Americans, such as PTSD. This study investigated the relationship between social support, negative interaction with family and 12-month PTSD among African Americans.
  
  
  
  Analyses were based on a nationally representative sample of African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (n = 3315). Social support variables included emotional support from family, frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions with family.
  
  
  
  Results indicated that emotional support from family is negatively associated with 12-month PTSD while negative interaction with family is predictive of 12-month PTSD. Additionally, a significant interaction indicated that high levels of subjective closeness to friends could offset the impact of negative family interactions on 12-month PTSD.
  
  
  
  Overall, study results converged with previously established findings indicating that emotional support from family is associated with 12-month PTSD, while, negative interaction with family is associated with increased risk of 12-month PTSD. The findings are discussed in relation to prior research on the unique association between social support and mental health among African Americans.
authors.affiliation: Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 1150 South Olive Street Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, USA. nguy333@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Ann W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Chatters
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Robert Joseph
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: VA Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center (SMITREC), Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Debra Siegel
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Himle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: African Americans; Family; Friendships; Informal social support; PTSD