Top

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

Published in:

Open Access 01-02-2018 | Original Paper

Potentially traumatic events have negative and positive effects on loneliness, depending on PTSD-symptom levels: evidence from a population-based prospective comparative study

Authors: Peter G. van der Velden, Bas Pijnappel, Erik van der Meulen

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 2/2018

Abstract

Purpose

Examine to what extent adults affected by recent potentially traumatic events (PTE) with different PTSD-symptom levels are more at risk for post-event loneliness than non-affected adults are in the same study period.

Methods

We extracted data from the Dutch longitudinal LISS panel to measure pre-event loneliness (2011) and post-event loneliness (2013 and 2014), pre-event mental health problems (2011), PTE and PTSD symptoms (2012). This panel is based on a traditional random sample drawn from the population register by Statistics Netherlands.

Results

Results of the multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that affected adults with high levels of PTSD symptoms were more at risk for high levels of post-event loneliness than affected adults with very low PTSD-symptom levels and non-affected adults, while controlling for pre-event loneliness, pre-event mental health problems and demographics. However, affected adults with very low levels of PTSD symptoms compared to non-affected adults were less at risk for medium and high levels of post-event loneliness while controlling for the same variables. Yet, pre-event loneliness appeared to be the strongest independent predictor of loneliness at later stages: more than 80% with high pre-event levels had high post-event levels at both follow-ups.

Conclusions

Remarkably, potentially traumatic events have depending on PTSD-symptom levels both negative and positive effects on post-event loneliness in favor of affected adults with very low PTSD symptoms levels. However, post-event levels at later stages are predominantly determined by pre-event loneliness levels.

See http://home.fsw.vu.nl/tg.van.tilburg/manual_loneliness_scale_1999.html#short_version.

Abbey G, Thompson SB, Hickish T, Heathcote D (2015) A meta-analysis of prevalence rates and moderating factors for cancer-related post-traumatic stress. Disord Psychooncol 24:371–381. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon3654 CrossRef

Birkley EL, Eckhardt CI, Dykstra RE (2016) Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, intimate partner violence, and relationship functioning: a meta-analytic review. J Trauma Stress 29:397–405. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts22129 CrossRefPubMed

Bryant RA, Friedman MJ, Spiegel D, Ursano R, Strain J (2011) A review of acute stress disorder in DSM-5. Depress Anxiety 28:802–817. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20737 CrossRefPubMed

Christiansen DM (2017) Posttraumatic stress disorder in parents following infant death: a systematic review. Clin Psychol Rev 51:60–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/jcpr201610007 CrossRefPubMed

Kristensen P, Weisæth L, Heir T (2012) Bereavement and mental health after sudden and violent losses: a review. Psychiatry 75:76–97. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc20127517 CrossRefPubMed

Neria Y, Nandi A, Galea S (2008) Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: a systematic review. Psychol Med 38:467–480 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291707001353 CrossRefPubMed

Rona RJ, Burdett H, Bull S, Jones M, Jones N, Greenberg N, Wessely S, Fear NT (2016) Prevalence of PTSD and other mental disorders in UK service personnel by time since end of deployment: a meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1038-8 PubMedPubMedCentral

Rytwinski NK, Scur MD, Feeny NC, Youngstrom EA (2013) The co-occurrence of major depressive disorder among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis. J Trauma Stress 26:299–309. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts21814 CrossRefPubMed

Darves-Bornoz JM, Alonso J, de Girolamo G et al (2008) Main traumatic events in Europe: PTSD in the European study of the epidemiology of mental disorders survey. J Trauma Stress 21:455–462. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts20357 CrossRefPubMed

10.

Hentschel S, Eid M, Kutscher T (2016) The influence of major life events and personality traits on the stability of affective well-being. J Happiness Stud 2016 18:719–741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9744-y CrossRef

11.

Hobfoll SE (1989) Conservation of resources a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. Am Psychol 44:513–524 https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X443513 CrossRefPubMed

12.

Hobfoll SE (2002) Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Rev Gen Psychol 6:307–324. https://doi.org/10.1037//1089-268064307 CrossRef

13.

Benight CC, Bandura A (2004) Social cognitive theory of posttraumatic recovery: the role of perceived self-efficacy. Behav Res Ther 42:1129–1148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2003.08.008 CrossRefPubMed

14.

Bosmans MWG, van der Velden PG (2015) Longitudinal interplay between posttraumatic stress symptoms and coping self-efficacy: a four-wave prospective study. Soc Sci Med 134:23–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.007 CrossRefPubMed

15.

Luszczynska A, Benight CC, Cieslak R (2009) Self-efficacy and health-related outcomes of collective trauma: a systematic review. Eur Psychol 14:51–62. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.14.1.51 CrossRef

16.

Johnson JG, Cohen P, Dohrenwend BP, Link BG, Brook JS (1999) A longitudinal investigation of social causation and social selection processes involved in the association between socioeconomic status and psychiatric disorders. J Abnorm Psychol 108:490–499. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843x1083490 CrossRefPubMed

17.

Kaniasty K, Norris FH (2008) Longitudinal linkages between perceived social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms: sequential roles of social causation and social selection. J Trauma Stress 21:274–281. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20334 CrossRefPubMed

18.

Kaniasty K, Norris FH (1992) Social support and victims of crime: Matching event, support, and outcome. Am J Comm Psychol 20:211–241 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00940837 CrossRef

19.

Platt JM, Lowe SR, Galea S, Norris FH, Koenen KC (2016) A Longitudinal study of the bidirectional relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress following a natural disaster. J Trauma Stress 29:205–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22092 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

20.

Ehlers A, Clark DM (2000) A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behav Res Ther 38:319–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(99)00123-0 CrossRefPubMed

21.

Laffaya C, Cavella S, Drescher K, Rosen C (2008) Relationships among PTSD symptoms, social support, and support source in veterans with chronic PTSD. J Trauma Stress 21:394–401. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20348 CrossRef

22.

Shallcross S, Arbisi PA, Polusny MA, Kramer MD, Erbes CR (2016) Social causation versus social erosion: comparisons of causal models for relations between support and PTSD symptoms. J Trauma Stress 29:167–175. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22086 CrossRefPubMed

23.

de Jong Gierveld J (1989) Personal relationships, social support, and loneliness. J Soc Pers Relat 6:197–221CrossRef

24.

Cacioppo JT, Patrick B (2008) Loneliness: human nature and the need for social connection. W.W Norton & Company, New York

25.

de Jong Gierveld J (1998) A review of loneliness: concept and definitions, determinants and consequences. Rev Clin Gerontol 8:73–80CrossRef

26.

Ejlskov L, Wulff J, Bøggild H, Kuh D, Stafford M (2017) Assessing the relative importance of correlates of loneliness in later life Gaining insight using recursive partitioning. Aging Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863201713706908 PubMed

27.

Hawkley LC, Cacioppo JT (2010) Loneliness matters: a theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Ann Behav Med 40:218–227 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8 CrossRefPubMed

28.

Heinrich LM, Gullone E (2006) The clinical significance of loneliness: a literature review. Clin Psychol Rev 26:695–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.04.002 CrossRefPubMed

29.

Leigh-Hunt N, Bagguley D, Bash K, Turner V, Turnbull S, Valtorta N, Caan W (2017) An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Public Health 152:157–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.035 CrossRefPubMed

30.

Hawthorne G (2008) Perceived social isolation in a community sample: its prevalence and correlates with aspects of peoples’ lives. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43:140–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-007-0279-8DO CrossRefPubMed

31.

Oshagan H, Allen RL (1992) Three loneliness scales: an assessment of their measurement properties. J Pers Assess 59:380–409. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5902_13 CrossRefPubMed

32.

Palgi Y, Shrira A, Ben-Ezra M, Shiovitz-Ezra S, Ayalon L (2012) Self- and other-oriented potential lifetime traumatic events as predictors of loneliness in the second half of life. Aging Ment Health 16:423–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2011.638903 CrossRefPubMed

33.

Kuwert P, Knaevelsrud C, Pietrzak RH (20140 Loneliness among older veterans in the United States: results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 22: 564–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.013

34.

Lasgaard M, Friis K, Shevlin M (2016) “Where are all the lonely people?” A population-based study of high-risk groups across the life span. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 51:1373–1384 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1279-3 CrossRefPubMed

35.

Brewin CR (2013) Autobiographical memory for trauma: update on four controversies. Memory 15:227–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210701256423 CrossRef

36.

van Giezen AE, Arensman E, Spinhoven P, Wolters G (2005) Consistency of memory for emotionally arousing events: a review of prospective and experimental studies. Clin Psychol Rev 25:935–953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2005.04.011 CrossRefPubMed

37.

Victor RC, Scambler SJ, Bowling A, Bond J (2005) The prevalence of, and risk factors for, loneliness in later life: a survey of older people in Great Britain. Aging Soc 25:357–375. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X04003332 CrossRef

38.

Solomon Z, Bensimon M, Greene T, Horesh D, Ein-Dor T (2015) Loneliness trajectories: the role of posttraumatic symptoms and social support. J Loss Trauma 20:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2013.815055 CrossRef

39.

Cohen-Mansfield J, Shmotkin D, Goldberg S (2009) Loneliness in old age: longitudinal changes and their determinants in an Israeli sample. Int Psychogeriatr 21:1160–1170. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610209990974 CrossRefPubMed

40.

Cacioppo JT, Hughes ME, Waite LJ, Hawkley LC, Thisted RA (2006) Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Psychol Aging 21:140–151. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.140 CrossRefPubMed

41.

DiGangi JA, Gomez D, Mendoza L, Jason LA, Keys CB, Koenen KC (2013) Pretrauma risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review of the literature. Clin Psychol Rev 33:728–744. https://doi.org/10.1016/jcpr201305002 CrossRefPubMed

42.

Scherpenzeel A, Das M (2011) True longitudinal and probability-based internet panels: evidence from The Netherlands. In: Das M, Ester P, Kaczmirek L (eds) Social and behavioral research and the internet: advances in applied methods and research strategies. Taylor & Francis, New York, pp 77–104

43.

van der Velden PG, Bosmans MW, Scherpenzeel AC (2013) The burden of research on trauma for respondents: a prospective and comparative study on respondents evaluations and predictors. PLoS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077266

44.

de Jong Gierveld J, van Tilburg TG (2006) A 6-item scale for overall, emotional, and social loneliness confirmatory tests on survey data. Res Aging 28:582–598. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027506289723 CrossRef

45.

de Jong Gierveld J, van Tilburg TG (1999) Manual of the loneliness scale, Department of Social Research Methodology (ISBN 90–9012523-X). VU University, Amsterdam

46.

Means-Christensen AJ, Arnau RC, Tonidandel AM, Bramson R, Meagher MW (2005) An efficient method of identifying major depression and panic disorder in primary care. J Behav Med 28:565–572. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-005-9023-6 CrossRefPubMed

47.

Ware JE, Sherbourne CD (1992) The MOS 36-item short-form health survey, SF-36: conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care 30:473–483CrossRefPubMed

48.

Horowitz M, Wilner N, Alvarez W (1979) Impact of event scale: a measure of subjective stress. Psychosom Med 41:209–218CrossRefPubMed

49.

van der Ploeg E, van der Mooren TT, Kleber RJ, van der Velden PG, Brom D (2004) Construct validation of the Dutch version of the impact of event scale. Psychol Assess 16:16–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.16.1.16 CrossRefPubMed

50.

Weiss DR, Marmar CR (1997) The impact of events scale-revised. In: Wilson JP (ed) Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD. Guilford Press, New York, pp 399–411

51.

Chan CS, Lowe SR, Weber E, Rhodes JE (2015) The contribution of pre- and postdisaster social support to short- and long-term mental health after Hurricanes Katrina: a longitudinal study of low-income survivors. Soc Sci Med 138:38–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.05.037 CrossRefPubMed

52.

Lowe SR, Chan CS, Rhodes JE (2010) Pre-hurricane perceived social support protects against psychological distress: a longitudinal analysis of low-income mothers. J Consult Clin Psychol 78:551–560. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018317 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

53.

Kaniasty K, Norris F (2008) Longitudinal linkages between perceived social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms: sequential roles of social causation and social selection. J Trauma Stress 21:274–281. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20334 CrossRefPubMed

54.

Clapp JD, Beck JG (2008) Understanding the relationship between PTSD and social support: the role of negative network orientation. Behav Res Ther 47:237–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.12.006 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

55.

Frueh BC, Turner SM, Beidel DC, Cahill SP (2001) Assessment of social functioning in combat veterans with PTSD. Aggress Violent Beh 6:79–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(99)00012-9 CrossRef

56.

Shevlin M, McElroy E, Murphy J (2015) Loneliness mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and adult psychopathology: evidence from the adult psychiatric morbidity survey. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 50:591–601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0951-8 CrossRefPubMed

57.

Velden PG van der, Bosmans MWG, Meulen van der E, Vermunt JK (2016) Pre-event trajectories of mental health and health-related disabilities, and post-event traumatic stress symptoms and health: a 7-wave population-based study. Psychiatry Res 30:246–466-473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.10.024

58.

Shiovitz-Ezra S, Ayalon L (2010) Situational versus chronic loneliness as risk factors for all-cause mortality. Int Psychogeriatr 22:455–462. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610209991426 CrossRefPubMed

59.

Fokkema T, De Jong Gierveld J, Dykstra PA (2012) Cross-national differences in older adult loneliness. J Psychol 146:201–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2011.631612 CrossRefPubMed

60.

Koenen KC, Ratanatharathorn A, Ng L et al (2017) Posttraumatic stress disorder in the World Mental Health Surveys. Psychol Med 47:2260–2274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000708 CrossRefPubMed

61.

Mann F, Bone JK, Lloyd-Evans B, Frerichs J, Pinfold V, Ma R, Wang J, Johnson S (2017) A life less lonely: the state of the art in interventions to reduce loneliness in people with mental health problems. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 52:627–638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1392-y CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

62.

Webber M, Fendt-Newlin M (2017) A review of social participation interventions for people with mental health problems. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 52:369–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1372-2 CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Title: Potentially traumatic events have negative and positive effects on loneliness, depending on PTSD-symptom levels: evidence from a population-based prospective comparative study
Authors: Peter G. van der Velden
Bas Pijnappel
Erik van der Meulen
Publication date: 01-02-2018
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 2/2018
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1476-8

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Potentially traumatic events have negative and positive effects on loneliness, depending on PTSD-symptom levels: evidence from a population-based prospective comparative study

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 2/2018

Civilians in World War II and DSM-IV mental disorders: results from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative

Mental health impact of social capital interventions: a systematic review

Occupational class and the changing patterns of hospitalization for affective and neurotic disorders: a nationwide register-based study of the Finnish working-age population, 1976–2010

Predicting psychiatric readmission: sex-specific models to predict 30-day readmission following acute psychiatric hospitalization

Decisional conflict in mental health care: a cross-sectional study

Twelve-month prevalence rates of mental disorders and service use in the Argentinean Study of Mental Health Epidemiology