Abstract
The psychosocial consequences of disaster exposure, which include threats to psychological health, physical well-being, and social networks, are documented in the existing literature. However, limited research exists assessing the relation of coping style to post-storm resilience levels among disaster survivors. The current study examined the relationships among demographic data, prior storm exposure, and coping styles on resilience of tornado survivors. Data for this study came from 87 individuals who were residents of Joplin, MO, at the time of the 2011 tornado. A linear regression analysis with stepwise entry was utilized to determine whether gender, income, marital status, coping style, and prior storm exposure were predictive of resilience. The overall model was significant, and the three coping styles, problem focused, active emotional, and avoidant emotional, were significant predictors of resilience. Age, marital status, income, and prior storm exposure were not significant predictors of resilience. Implications of these data for the development of evidence-based interventions that are designed to reduce suffering and promote effective preparation and post-disaster management are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Alexandra Duello, Bailey Greene, Blake Herd, Spencer Prevalett, Morgan Merrell, Melanie Messick, and Paige Nichols for their assistance with data collection for the JIP. This research was supported by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Department of Behavioral Sciences, and the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University. This support is gratefully acknowledged.
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Brown, J. (2015). On Tornados: Storm Exposure, Coping Styles, and Resilience. In: Cherry, K. (eds) Traumatic Stress and Long-Term Recovery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18866-9_3
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