Holding together after disaster: The role of social skills in strengthening family cohesion and resilience

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study investigated how a flooding disaster impacted family cohesion and resilience.BackgroundDisasters present challenges for families, often threatening family cohesion. Although there is extensive research on the impacts of disasters on mental health at the individual level, less is known about how family units recover from disasters, and how parental relationship dynamics and parent–child dynamics influence family functioning during and after such traumatic events.MethodQualitative face‐to‐face interviews were conducted 1 year after the 2013 southern Alberta flood with 105 parents of children ages 17 years and under.ResultsFindings reveal that families who experienced more loss were not necessarily more negatively impacted overall. Some families reported the flood caused them to grow further apart, whereas for others it brought them closer together. Those who reported that the flood brought them closer together demonstrated the following three main social skills: (a) communication, (b) conflict resolution, and (c) coping. Findings also reveal that families have higher levels of cohesiveness and resilience post‐disaster when they exhibit these important skills.ConclusionThis research concludes that coming together as a family unit created a supportive space for families to process and reduce the stress generated by the flood event. Families who demonstrate and practice communication, conflict resolution, and coping in the face of challenging events like disasters are more cohesive and resilient.ImplicationsUnderstanding how key social skills influence family members' functioning post‐disaster in terms of cohesion and resilience provides important insight into strategies, services, and resources that can be adopted and utilized to support families in disaster contexts.