TY - JOUR PY - 2011// TI - Social support, world assumptions, and exposure as predictors of anxiety and quality of life following a mass trauma JO - Journal of anxiety disorders A1 - Grills-Taquechel, Amie E. A1 - Littleton, Heather L. A1 - Axsom, Danny K. SP - 498 EP - 506 VL - 25 IS - 4 N2 - 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.

LA - SN - 0887-6185 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.12.003 ID - ref1 ER -