The role of specific sources of social support on postinjury psychological symptoms.

The final analysis included only 63 adults, so it had limited power to detect associations, especially for anxiety. Social support explained only a small additional share of outcome variability, a total of 5–9%. Most participants had mild to moderate injuries and were discharged home, so results may not apply to severely injured or hospitalized patients. Participants had to report pain of at least 4 out of 10, so findings may not apply to crash survivors with lower pain. Social support was measured in the emergency department and asked about perceived support before the crash, not support received after injury. The support measure did not identify who the special person or family members were, so it is unclear what those categories meant in practice. The significant other subscale refers to a special person and may include romantic or platonic relationships. Outcomes were self-report screening measures, not clinical diagnoses. Follow-up was only at 90 days, so longer-term relationships between support and recovery were not captured. The analysis combined groups from a randomized app trial, so it cannot speak to the app intervention itself.

Do not conclude that increasing social support will reduce posttraumatic stress or depression after a crash. This study measured perceived support at an early time point and associated it with later symptoms; it did not test a support intervention. Family support was not associated with the outcomes, so the finding does not support focusing only on family.