The Dynamics of Subjective Well-Being Among Recurrent Flood Victims: Development and Testing of an Integrated Model

Abstract

The Indian subcontinent is vulnerable to natural disasters, predominantly devastating floods. The north-eastern region of India, especially the state of Assam, is endowed with many natural water resources, making the area highly flood-prone. However, very few studies have investigated the population’s subjective well-being (SWB) in these areas despite such recurrent adversity. An integrated model of SWB is proposed and tested by combining the SWB homeostasis theory and the theory of conservation of resources. The integrated model indicated both subjective as well as objective variables as significant predictors of the SWB. A sample of 306 participants was randomly selected from two severely flood-affected areas in the state of Assam in India using a cross-sectional survey study design. Structural equation modeling was used to test two hypothesized integrated models (a direct and mediational path model). The results indicated that SWB homeostasis is maintained within the normative range of 60-65 points when measured on a 100-point continuum. Analysis of the direct path model showed that education, safe shelter, personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, and openness), object and condition resources, psychological buffers (optimism and perceived control), and negative affect significantly predicted SWB. The mediational path model indicated that optimism is a significant mediator between personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism), positive affect, resources (object resources and condition resources), and SWB. The study findings may have implications for counselling in addressing internal psychological buffers such as optimism and perceived control for maintaining the SWB of the disaster victims.