Research in the field of risk and crisis communication indicates that large disasters not only cause distress among those affected by a crisis situation but also among the wider public. It is known that feelings of anxiety and dread are rooted in a heuristic interpretation of the situation, and that this leads to elevated stress levels in both the individual and the collective. From the literature on psychosocial behavior, we know that the lack of information, the shortness of guidance on what to do, and the absence of acknowledgement of any emotional distress, all have an immediate negative impact on the individual’s stress level. To tackle this phenomenon, this research looks to communication practices as a way of dealing with this issue during a crisis. The prevailing crisis communication literature suggests its prime aim is to safeguard the sender’s reputation thereby preventing the loss of trust. In our work, we inverted that logic by introducing a crisis communication strategy that focuses on restoring trust by diminishing victims’ and other stakeholders’ stress levels. Based on a case, the Brussels terror attacks (March, 2016), we proved the effectiveness of this approach and the diminishing effect on the population’s stress levels.

中文翻译：

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危机期间以利益相关者为中心的交流策略：基于布鲁塞尔恐怖袭击的案例研究

在风险和危机沟通领域的研究表明，大灾难不仅使受危机局势影响的人们感到苦恼，而且也使广大公众感到苦恼。众所周知，焦虑和恐惧感源于对这种情况的启发式解释，这导致个人和集体的压力水平升高。从有关心理社会行为的文献中，我们知道，缺乏信息，缺乏指导性的做事方式以及对任何情绪困扰的认可都对个体的压力水平产生了直接的负面影响。为了解决这种现象，本研究将交流实践视为危机期间处理此问题的一种方式。流行的危机通讯文献表明，其主要目的是维护发送方的声誉，从而防止信任的丧失。在我们的工作中，我们通过引入一种危机沟通策略来扭转这种逻辑，该策略的重点是通过降低受害者和其他利益相关者的压力水平来恢复信任。基于一个案例，布鲁塞尔恐怖袭击（2016年3月），我们证明了这种方法的有效性以及对人口压力水平的减弱作用。