Social Support, Dysfunctional Coping, and Community Reintegration as Predictors of PTSD Among Human Trafficking Survivors

Abstract

Human trafficking exerts psychological effects on survivors that persist after intervention, and even after community reintegration. Effects include anxiety, depression, alienation, disorientation, aggression, suicidal ideation, attention deficit, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Community supports and coping mechanisms may mitigate these effects. The report presented here is part of a long-term program of research to develop and test evidence-informed mental health and human capacity-building intervention programs for women and girls who are victims of trafficking. Structural equation modeling was used to assess a conditional process model (moderated mediation) of the effect of social support, coping, and community reintegration on PTSD among n = 144 girls and women. Participants received psychosocial intervention at a residential care facility for trafficking survivors. Results indicate model fit was excellent. Results indicate community reintegration indirectly influenced PTSD through its effect on perceived social support. Survivors who reported more difficulty reintegrating back into the community perceived less social support than those that reported easier community reintegration, and trafficking survivors who perceived less social support indicated more PTSD. Survivors with more PTSD symptoms tended to report using more dysfunctional coping mechanisms.