Examining the role of social support in treatment for co-occurring substance use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder

Amber M Jarnecke; Tanya C Saraiya; Delisa G Brown; James Richardson; Therese Killeen; Sudie E Back

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100427

Examining the role of social support in treatment for co-occurring substance use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder

Addict Behav Rep. 2022 Apr 11:15:100427. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100427. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Authors

Amber M Jarnecke¹, Tanya C Saraiya¹, Delisa G Brown¹, James Richardson¹, Therese Killeen¹, Sudie E Back^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
² Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC, United States.

Abstract

Objective: Social support may be a critical mechanism in the treatment of co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, no studies have examined how social support changes as a function of treatment or predicts treatment outcome in a Veteran population with co-occurring SUD and PTSD.

Method: The current study is a secondary analysis that examined social support over the course of treatment for co-occurring SUD and PTSD (N = 81). Analyses were conducted to examine if a) social support predicts change in substance use and PTSD symptoms, respectively, over the course of treatment and during follow-up, and b) substance use and PTSD symptoms, respectively, predicts change in social support over treatment and during follow-up.

Results: The findings revealed that between-person social support moderated decreases in substance use (B = -0.17, SE = 0.07, p = 0.017) and PTSD symptom severity (B = -0.12, SE = 0.05, p = 0.009) during treatment but not during follow-up. Within-person substance use and PTSD symptom severity predicted social support but substance use and PTSD symptoms did not moderate changes in social support during treatment or follow-up.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the critical role of social support during treatment in enhancing outcomes for individuals with co-occurring SUD and PTSD.

Keywords: PTSD; Social support; Substance use disorder; Trauma.

Abstract

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