Interpersonal Self-Support, Venting Coping and Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Adolescent Earthquake Survivors

Interpersonal self-support is a personality factor that is believed in China to protect against distress. This study explored the relation among interpersonal self-support, venting coping, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a sample of 311 15 to 16 year-olds students 18 months after the Wenchuan earthquake using the Interpersonal Self-Support Scale for Adolescent Students (ISSS-AS), the Coping Style Scale of Middle School Students (CSSMSS), and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). As expected, a moderation model was not supported and venting coping mediated the effect of low interpersonal responsibility (b = -0.11, p < 0.001) and low interpersonal openness (b = -0.08, p < 0.001) on PTSD symptoms. Interpersonal independence was inversely related to PTSD symptoms. Overall, the current findings supported the venting coping mediation model with regard to the relationship between interpersonal self-support traits and PTSD symptoms, and have contributed to current knowledge with respect to the relation of personality, venting coping and PTSD symptoms.