Social adjustment in New Zealand and Philippine emergency responders: A test of main and moderating effects of received social support

Abstract

This study examined the influence of received social support on the social adjustment of emergency responders. Emergency responders (N = 223) from New Zealand and the Philippines answered an online questionnaire measuring demographic variables, duty-related traumatic exposure, social support received from different sources, and social adjustment (i.e., social and occupational impairment, posttraumatic growth in interpersonal relationships). Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that a greater amount of received social support from supervisors and a greater amount of received emotional support were both associated with lower levels of social and occupational impairment. Additionally, higher amounts of support received from family and supervisors, as well as from all sources combined, predicted higher posttraumatic growth scores in the domain of interpersonal relationships. Received social support was not observed to moderate the effects of traumatic exposure on social adjustment. Findings were generally consistent with the main effect model of social support and underscored the differential effects of the various components of received social support on social adjustment dimensions.