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Social group connections support mental health following wildfire.
- Source :
-
Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology . Jun2024, Vol. 59 Issue 6, p957-967. 11p. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Purpose: As environmental disasters become more common and severe due to climate change, there is a growing need for strategies to bolster recovery that are proactive, cost-effective, and which mobilise community resources. Aims: We propose that building social group connections is a particularly promising strategy for supporting mental health in communities affected by environmental disasters. Methods: We tested the social identity model of identity change in a disaster context among 627 people substantially affected by the 2019–2020 Australian fires. Results: We found high levels of post-traumatic stress, strongly related to severity of disaster exposure, but also evidence of psychological resilience. Distress and resilience were weakly positively correlated. Having stronger social group connections pre-disaster was associated with less distress and more resilience 12–18 months after the disaster, via three pathways: greater social identification with the disaster-affected community, greater continuity of social group ties, and greater formation of new social group ties. New group ties were a mixed blessing, positively predicting both resilience and distress. Conclusions: We conclude that investment in social resources is key to supporting mental health outcomes, not just reactively in the aftermath of disasters, but also proactively in communities most at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09337954
- Volume :
- 59
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 177422242
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-023-02519-8