Complex relationships between coping strategies, posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression in Colombians exposed to armed conflict violence

Armed conflict undermines social support networks, access to mental health services and helpful coping strategies, elevating the risk of mental health conditions along with exposure to trauma and chronic stress. This secondary data analysis used a network approach to identify how (1) coping strategies and symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety interact with each other among individuals exposed to armed conflict in Colombia, and how (2) a psychosocial intervention influences coping strategies and comorbid symptoms. Using baseline and post-treatment data from 221 participants in a psychosocial intervention in Colombia, we constructed two networks: a baseline network and a pre-post change-score network, incorporating 11 coping strategies from the Brief-COPE, six emotional disorders nodes and a treatment node. In the baseline network, Active coping, numbing and reexperiencing emerged as central nodes, while social support, depression and active coping showed the highest bridge strength. These results were consistent in the pre-post network, however there was no direct association between treatment and distress or coping nodes. Individuals exposed to Colombia's armed conflict display intertwined features of fear and depression linked to coping strategies such as self-blame and denial. Future research should incorporate longitudinal models and positive affect variables to enhance the understanding of these comorbid problems.