(PS13-82) Changes in Perceived Social Support in the Acute Aftermath of an Adult Sexual Assault: Examining the Influence of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA), common among those who have experienced an adult sexual assault (SA), has been found to be associated with lower levels of perceived social support, potentially due to less frequent contact with others and/or stigma around disclosure (Foley et al., 2022). Perceived social support is protective against the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; e.g., Fletcher et al., 2021), for both adult SA (Dworkin et al., 2019) and CSA survivors (Liu et al., 2022). However, little is known about the potential impact of CSA on the trajectory of perceived social support in the early period following an adult SA. Understanding how social support changes over time, and its relationship with CSA, is important for developing comprehensive approaches to supporting survivors and promoting long-term recovery. Thus, we sought to examine how social support changes over time and whether CSA moderates that change for individuals in a randomized controlled trial (NCT02808468) evaluating brief cognitive restructuring for PTSD and alcohol misuse in the acute aftermath (2-10 weeks) of an adult SA. Participants (N = 57) were randomized to receive the intervention plus weekly assessments (n = 28) or assessments only (AO; n = 29). Participants were female-identifying, mostly non-Hispanic (88%), White (61%), heterosexual (72%), and between the ages of 18 and 38 (M = 21.63, SD = 3.73) who completed 7 assessment time-points: baseline, intervention or post-randomization (AO), 4 weekly assessments, and a 3-month follow up. Perceived social support was measured at all time-points asking the extent to which they agreed with the statement: “This past week, I have gotten emotional support from my family and friends”. CSA was assessed dichotomously at baseline. We conducted mixed effects models with a random intercept and slope. We hypothesized that perceived social support would increase over time and CSA would be associated with smaller increases. Fifty-eight percent of participants reported CSA. There was a significant, small, positive correlation between social support and CSA, r = .20, p < .001, as well as a significant, small, negative correlation between social support and time, r = -.19, p < .001. Social support significantly decreased across the intervention and follow-up period, p < .001. Intervention condition did not have a significant effect on social support, p = .448. There was a significant main effect of CSA on social support, such that those with CSA reported higher social support overall compared to those without CSA, p = .017. We did not find evidence supporting a time by CSA interaction, p = .308. These findings highlight an interesting relationship between perceived social support and CSA in the acute aftermath of an adult SA. Contrary to the hypotheses, perceived social support showed a decline over time, regardless of intervention condition, and CSA did not moderate this change. These results suggest that patients may require less social support as time elapses post-SA, and those with CSA may perceive higher levels of social support immediately following an adult SA. These findings on natural recovery and intervention following an adult SA can inform clinical interventions and individualized support in the acute aftermath.