ABSTRACT

Background: Disasters negatively impact mental health and well-being. Studying how people adapt and recover after adversity is crucial for disaster preparedness and response.

Objective: This study examined how differentially affected communities harness their resources to adapt to the aftermath of a flood. We predicted that stronger individual, interpersonal, and community resources protect against psychosocial resource loss and, through that, are related to fewer symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression and higher life satisfaction. We also predicted that these effects would be stronger in a flooded community, compared to a threatened, but non-flooded community.

Method: Participants were randomly sampled community members from two neighbouring municipalities. One municipality was severely flooded during the 2014 floods in South East Europe (affected community, n_a = 223), the other was threatened but not flooded (comparison community, n_c = 224). Interviews were conducted one and a half years after the disaster using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10-item version, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Community Resources Scale, the Psychosocial Resource Loss Scale, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Revised and the Satisfaction with Life Scale.

Results: Stronger individual, interpersonal, and community resources were found to be related to better post-disaster outcomes directly and indirectly through psychosocial resource loss. In the affected community, interpersonal resources and community social capital and engagement were stronger predictors of positive adaptation. In the comparison community, community economic development and trust in community leadership were more important.

Conclusion: This study provides evidence that people affected by disasters can harness their individual, interpersonal, and community resources to recover and adapt. Post-disaster interventions should aim to strengthen family and community ties, thus increasing available social support and community connectedness.

摘要

背景：灾害对心理健康和福祉产生负面影响。研究人们在逆境后如何适应和恢复对于备灾和救灾至关重要。

目标：本研究探讨了受不同影响的社区如何利用其资源来适应洪水的后果。我们预测，更强大的个人、人际和社区资源可以防止心理社会资源损失，从而与更少的创伤后压力和抑郁症状以及更高的生活满意度相关。我们还预测，与受到威胁但未受洪水淹没的社区相比，这些影响在被洪水淹没的社区中会更强。

方法：参与者是从两个邻近城市随机抽取的社区成员。2014 年东南欧洪水期间，一个城市遭受严重洪水（受影响社区，n _a  = 223），另一个城市受到威胁但未被洪水淹没（对比社区，n _c  = 224）。访谈是在灾难发生一年半后进行的，使用康纳-戴维森复原力量表 10 项版本、感知社会支持多维量表、社区资源量表、心理社会资源损失量表、DSM-5 的 PTSD 清单、流行病学研究中心抑郁量表修订版和生活满意度量表。

结果：发现更强的个人、人际和社区资源通过社会心理资源损失直接或间接与更好的灾后结果相关。在受影响的社区中，人际资源、社区社会资本和参与度是积极适应的更强预测因素。在比较社区中，社区经济发展和对社区领导的信任更为重要。

结论：这项研究提供的证据表明，受灾害影响的人们可以利用他们的个人、人际和社区资源来恢复和适应。灾后干预措施应旨在加强家庭和社区联系，从而增加可用的社会支持和社区联系。