Social group connections support mental health following wildfire

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.

Predictors of individual mental health and psychological resilience after Australia’s 2019–2020 bushfires

“…These nuanced findings likely reflect the complex contextual nature of disaster experiences and coping responses. For example, disaster-affected individuals and communities often experience connection and growth due to shared trauma (Muldoon et al, 2019), and social connection supported mental health 12–18 months after bushfire in the current sample (Cruwys et al, under review).…”

Facing the heat: A descriptive review of the literature on family and community resilience amidst wildfires and climate change

“…Thirteen papers (14.1%) pointed out wildfires' major transgenerational impacts, at human, economic, and ecologic levels, with loss of life, physical and mental health adversities, damage to physical infrastructures, destruction of ecosystems, increase in violence, and disruption of everyday life for children, families, and communities (e.g., Cruwys et al, 2023; Drolet et al, 2020; Osofsky & Osofsky, 2018). However, research on family resilience and community resilience in wildfires was scarce (Botey & Kulig, 2014; Sprague et al, 2015), with an often‐cited study (by e.g., Eshel, 2016; Walsh, 2016b) from 1987, though families and communities are recognized as systems where preparedness is best carried out (Witting et al, 2021).…”

“…Some authors highlighted that disasters are collective in essence, with distress and trauma experienced collectively (e.g., Hobfoll et al, 2007; Priest, 2023; Walsh, 2016b). Life trajectories were altered in the aftermath due to the actions taken (Schulenberg, 2020), with new individual plus collective narratives and identities being born (Cox & Perry, 2011; Cruwys et al, 2023). It was essential to tackle all systems, including families and communities, to build resilience (e.g., Cadamuro et al, 2021; Hamiel et al, 2013), since these were interconnected and reciprocally influenced (5 papers, 5.4%; e.g., Walsh, 2021).…”

“…Overall, studies have shown that when facing natural disasters, people predominantly exhibit a resilient trajectory, with only a minority of individuals registering lasting distress (e.g., Bonanno, 2021; Cherry, 2015; Cruwys et al, 2023; Schulenberg, 2020). This trajectory spans the entire process, from the start of the crisis event, through its culmination, and across the period of recovery that follows (Drolet et al, 2020; Schulenberg, 2020; Straub et al, 2020).…”

Climate distress and social identity: bringing theory to clinical practice

“…Preliminary data suggest that having numerous social ties can enhance resilience in the face of climate change: better psychological resilience and lower distress following the Australian wildfires of 2019–2020 were predicted by having robust social connections pre-wildfire ( Cruwys et al, 2023 ). While existing guidance for climate distress highlights the role of engagement with others to enhance social connection ( Conyer, 2019 ), clinicians can finesse these approaches for each individual by formulating the specific social-cognitive processes maintaining their climate distress.…”