Social support, world assumptions, and exposure as predictors of anxiety and quality of life following a mass trauma

This study examined the influence of a mass trauma (the Virginia Tech campus shootings) on anxiety symptoms and quality of life, as well as the potential vulnerability/protective roles of world assumptions and social support. Pre-trauma adjustment data, collected in the six months prior to the shooting, was examined along with two-month post-shooting data in a sample of 298 female students enrolled at the university at the time of the shootings. Linear regression analyses revealed consistent predictive roles for world assumptions pertaining to control and self-worth as well as family support. In addition, for those more severely exposed to the shooting, greater belief in a lack of control over outcomes appeared to increase vulnerability for post-trauma physiological and emotional anxiety symptoms. Implications of the results for research and intervention following mass trauma are discussed.

Research highlights▶ Exposure was not a significant predictor of anxiety or quality of life. ▶ Exposure interacted with controllability of outcomes to predict post-shooting anxiety. ▶ For world assumptions, self-worth most consistently predicted anxiety and quality of life. ▶ For social support, family support most consistently predicted anxiety and quality of life.