Assessing the role of socio-demographic characteristics, social support and formal disaster assistance in predicting the subjective recovery of flood survivors in Pakistan

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article investigates the effects of socio-demographic characteristics of the 2010 flood victims, their flood exposure, and social and formal support on post-flood subjective recovery. It seeks to illuminate the factors best correlating with life recovery feelings of the respondents. Regression analysis of survey data showed that period of return to home, annual income, family size, material damage, and social support significantly correlated with the life recovery of respondents. More specifically, the period of return to home and material loss had a negative connection with life recovery feelings of flood victims while the annual income of the respondents, family size, and social support had a positive correlation on their life recovery feelings. Analysis also revealed that formal disaster support had a very negligible correlation with life recovery. However, social support helped to lessen the negative effects of material damage on the life recovery feelings of the survivors. The correlation of annual income with life recovery feelings remained almost constant and significant in all the regression models, showcasing the importance of personal resources to recover from disaster. The study concludes that although both social and formal support are pivotal for post-flood subjective recovery, they face serious limitations. More nuanced longitudinal studies are required to understand the contours of long-term life recovery process.