TY  - JOUR
A1  - Masson, Torsten
A1  - Bamberg, Sebastian
A1  - Stricker, Michael
A1  - Heidenreich, Anna
T1  - "We can help ourselves": does community resilience buffer against the negative impact of flooding on mental health?
JF  - Natural hazards and earth system sciences
N2  - Empirical evidence of the relationship between social support and post-disaster mental health provides support for a general beneficial effect of social support (main-effect model; Wheaton, 1985). From a theoretical perspective, a buffering effect of social support on the negative relationship between disaster-related stress and mental health also seems plausible (stress-buffering model; Wheaton, 1985). Previous studies, however, (a) have paid less attention to the buffering effect of social support and (b) have mainly relied on interpersonal support (but not collective-level support such as community resilience) when investigating this issue. This previous work might have underestimated the effect of support on post-disaster mental health. Building on a sample of residents in Germany recently affected by flooding (N = 118), we show that community resilience to flooding (but not general interpersonal social support) buffered against the negative effects of flooding on post-disaster mental health. The results support the stress-buffering model and call for a more detailed look at the relationship between support and resilience and post-disaster adjustment, including collective-level variables.
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-2371-2019
SN  - 1561-8633
SN  - 1684-9981
VL  - 19
IS  - 11
SP  - 2371
EP  - 2384
PB  - Copernicus
CY  - Göttingen
ER  -