The Role of Social Connectedness in Buffering the Effects of Discrimination on Post-Trauma Cognitions in Forcibly Displaced Muslims

Introduction: Among trauma-exposed, forcibly displaced Muslims, very little is known about how social connectedness, or perceived interpersonal connection and belonging, may alter the relationshipbetween discrimination and negative posttraumatic cognitions. Discrimination may aggravate traumapsychopathology (Helms et al., 2010); however, social connectedness may buffer its negative effects(Juang & Alvarez, 2010). Objective: We examined whether higher religious and racial/ethnic discriminationwould be associated with stronger negative posttraumatic cognitions and whether stronger socialconnectedness may adaptively buffer this relationship. Method: Trauma exposed individuals (N = 99)who identified as Muslim and as a refugee, asylum seeker, or internally displaced person participated inthe study. Measures of discrimination, social connection, and posttraumatic cognitions were completed.Results: Higher discrimination was moderately associated with stronger negative trauma-related cognitions(r =.40, p,.001) and with lower social connectedness (r = -.32, p =.001). Social connectednessmoderated the relationship between discrimination and posttraumatic cognitions, such that at lower levelsof social connectedness there was a stronger relationship between discrimination and posttraumaticcognitions (-2SD: b =.32, -1SD: b =.23, M: b =.14), this was not present at higher levels of socialconnectedness.