Cumulative Trauma and Trauma Symptoms: A Three-Way Interaction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test if perceived social support and self-compassion will interact to reduce the magnitude of the bivariate relationship (buffering effect) between cumulative trauma and trauma symptoms after controlling for gender and age among college students. As part of a broader research project conducted between 2018 and 2019, we collected data via online surveys from a sample of 551 undergraduate students at a public university in the southern region of the US. After data cleaning, the study included 538 participants (representing 97.6% of the original dataset), ensuring a diverse representation across various ethnicities and genders. The three-way interaction model accounted for 38.61% of the variance in PTSD symptoms. In detail, with high levels of perceived social support, there was a significant difference in the buffering effects of perceived social support on the trauma–PTSD association between high and low self-compassion. Conversely, at high levels of self-compassion, perceived social support did not significantly influence the buffering effect of self-compassion. This study underscores the critical role of self-compassion in enhancing the protective effect of high-level perceived social support against PTSD symptoms following cumulative trauma.