Social support, negative maltreatment-related cognitions and posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents

A set of mediation analyses demonstrated, that negative maltreatment-related appraisals mediated the relation between perceived social support and PTSS. The hypothesized negative associations of social support with PTSS and dysfunctional cognitions did not differ between children (8-11;11 years) and adolescents (12-17;11 years). Thus, the protective function of social support after maltreatment can be explained by fewer negative beliefs maltreated youth have about themselves and the world. These results provide support to models of social-cognitive processing and emphasize the importance of cognitive coping in regard to episodes of maltreatment which can be shaped within social interactions with non-abusive caregivers, friends, and significant others.