Analysis of Social and Psychological Terrain of Bank Erosion Victims: A Study Along the Bhagirathi River, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Social psychology of people affected by hazards is different from normal psychology. For example, severe bank erosion in the lower reach of the Bhagirathi River in West Bengal has resulted in significant land loss (∼60% of all households lost land over last 20 years) and affected the livelihoods of the people in the study villages along the river. Per capita income has almost halved from 1970–2012 due to land loss. This stark nature of land erosion and vulnerability of livelihood has had far-reaching repercussions on the fabric of society and the psychology of the people in this region. Results showed that erosion-affected villages have registered comparatively larger average family sizes (∼4.1 as compared to ∼3.9 in non-affected villages), lower literacy levels (< 50% compared to > 65% for the non-affected villages), and poor health. Reports of poor health as a result of land erosion include ∼60% of the respondents having reported physical ailments such as headache and abdominal discomfort, as well as 3%–5% reporting loss of emotional and psychological balance. Villages suffering from erosion showed higher positive loadings in average-coefficient of variation (CV) differential (25%–40%) depicting objectivity in their opinions for select variables of social processes. Principal component analysis (PCA) portrayed maximum eigenvalues in the first principal component for interpersonal processes (∼98%) and a minimum for intergroup processes (∼80%). Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) depicted a cluster between interpersonal and intergroup processes and another between intra-individual and group categories. The positive loadings in female-male differences in CV of perceptions portrayed relative consistency of males over the females concerning fear/phobia and physical stress while negative loadings exhibited higher consistency for females regarding psychological stress and shock. Lastly, the Tajfel matrix portrayed a distinction between hazard psychology characterized by maximum joint profit as found in Rukunpur, and normal psychology characterized by in-group favoritism as found in Matiari.