Crisis Coping Research Articles

РЕСУРСИ РЕЗИЛЬЄНТНОСТІ ОСІБ З ТРАВМАТИЧНИМ ДОСВІДОМ

Purpose. Theoretical study of resilience and the resources that determine the difference in its manifestation after critical situations, as well as empirical research on the mechanisms and resources that promote the development of resilience in people with traumatic experiences because of the war in Ukraine. Methods. Methods of theoretical analysis of scientific literature on the problem; methods of empirical research using a set of psychodiagnostic techniques; methods of mathematical statistics. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated for statistical data processing. Results. According to the results of theoretical analysis, the concept of "resilience" is considered as both a process and an outcome of successful adaptation to difficult life situations, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adaptation to external and internal challenges. The empirical study revealed positive correlations of psychological resilience with resources (crisis coping strategies) "B – Belief & values" (r=0.591), “C – Cognition, thought” (r=0.540). A directly proportional correlations was also found between the overall impact of the event, the level of intrusion and avoidance with the crisis coping strategy "I – Imagination" (r=0.505; r=0.607; r=0.506), between the level of avoidance and the resource “S – Socialization” (r=0.632), between the level of intrusion and “C – Cognition, thought” (r=0.491). Conclusions. Individuals whose crisis coping strategies are based on faith (in God, in people, in miracles, or in themselves and their mission), belief systems, values and meanings, the activation of mental abilities, the ability to think logically and critically, assess situations, learn new ideas, plan, gather information, analyze problems, and solve them rationally, exhibit higher resilience indicators. Those who have higher level of impact of event and manifestations of specific PTSD symptoms more frequently use imagination, memories, and creativity to cope with crises. The level of avoidance positively correlates with the use of social ties, social support, and communication to cope with crises, and the level of intrusion positively correlates with the use of cognition and cognitive strategies.

The Role and Influence of Social Media in Crisis Communication: An Analysis with Twitter as An Example

Nowadays, social media has become an indispensable part of information dissemination, and its role and influence are constantly shaping the information ecology of today's society. At the same time, the attention of crisis events on social media continues to increase, which is of great significance for crisis management and response. This paper aims to take Twitter as an example to explore the role and influence of social media in crisis communication, and to analyze its role in instant transmission, information transmission speed, public opinion guidance, public relations channels and emotional connection in crisis events through literature review and case analysis. This paper aims to reveal the function mode, communication effect and coping strategy of social media in crisis communication and provide theoretical support and practical reference for improving public crisis awareness and crisis coping ability. At the same time, this paper provides reference for establishing an effective crisis communication management mechanism, which is helpful to improve the public's cognition and understanding of crisis events.

Food systems under shock: the evolution of food security status of Karantina residents after the Beirut explosion

Robust food systems are crucial for ensuring access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly in times of crisis. Economic instability, currency devaluation, and political turmoil can disrupt food systems, leading to higher food prices, compromised nutrition, and increased vulnerability. Lebanon is a stark example of this, where a catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s Port in 2020 worsened an existing economic and humanitarian crisis. The depreciation of the Lebanese currency led to soaring food prices, impacting people’s ability to buy food, and pushing many into poverty, illustrating the significant impact of the state food systems during crises (FAO, 2021). In times of crisis, a simplified food system, relying on emergency food aid supplies, replaces conventional food system, as food aid and cash transfers become the primary source upon which the affected population depends to ensure their food security and meet their essential needs. In this article we report on research conducted between 2020 and 2022 focusing on the impacts of the Beirut explosion on food security status of the permanent residents the Karantina neighborhood—the closest residential area to the Beirut port. We surveyed 100 households chosen at random, examining shifts in food security and nutrition at three intervals: 6 months prior to the explosion, 6 months following it, and 2 years after the event. The findings revealed a sharp decline in food security and diet quality among residents in the two-year period following the explosion. The proportion of food-secure households fell from 71% to 2%, while those with acceptable food consumption decreased from 96% to 30%. Additionally, income and debt situations worsened significantly. Almost 95% of residents resorted to crisis coping strategies, such as using savings, borrowing money for food, selling furniture, withdrawing children from school, and reducing education and health expenses, rendering them highly vulnerable. Food and cash assistance were provided to all households for 6 months to one-year post-explosion, resulting in improved food security and consumption after 6 months. However, these gains diminished 2 years later, once the assistance ended, revealing a lack of resilience in the food system. In conclusion, soon after the assistance stopped, the prolonged deterioration of Lebanon’s economic situation, compounded by multiple crises, pushed these households further into poverty, exacerbating food insecurity. This research underscores the critical importance of sustained support and comprehensive economic reforms to rebuild food systems and promote nutrition resilience in crisis-affected regions.

Important Issues about Chinese Rural Older Adults’ Pandemic Crisis Coping: A Qualitative Study by Grounded Theory

Background. Rural older adults are an important vulnerable group facing the pandemic crisis. They are at a greater risk and have suffered more. They need more support and have challenged the society more. Thus, their pandemic crisis coping is essential for national emergency management. Objectives. This study was designed to address issues of rural older adults’ pandemic crisis coping, with the aim of better protecting rural older adults’ health and supporting national emergency management. Methods. Grounded theory was employed in this study. Open questions were designed by theoretical sampling and theoretical coding processes until theoretical saturation. In total, 56 participants were recruited via a snowballing process, from ZX city, Hubei Province, China. Results. Rural older adults’ pandemic crisis coping was impacted by many limitations, including less coping awareness, lower coping capacity, and insufficient coping support. Pandemic crisis coping awareness was difficult to initiate and lagged. The older adults’ pandemic crisis coping capacity was impacted by limited knowledge, weak personal finances, and a deficient ability to obtain and stockpile materials. Social support for coping with the pandemic crisis was limited to life support, official support, and health support. Conclusion. Much attention needs to be paid in strengthening the pandemic crisis coping of rural older adults. Thus, future works should focus on raising rural older adults’ pandemic crisis coping awareness, improving their pandemic crisis coping capacity, and providing them with appropriate pandemic crisis coping support.

Mechanism study of social media overload on health self-efficacy and anxiety

Previous studies have found that people's excessive use of social media may have a negative impact on their crisis coping skills. This study focuses on the effects of social media overload (information overload, communication overload and social overload) on anxiety and health self-efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used an online questionnaire and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to obtain data (816 valid samples), analyze the data and validate the model. The findings revealed that social media overload (information overload, communication overload and social overload) triggers increased social media fatigue, which in turn leads to the development of anxiety and the consequence of diminished health self-efficacy; social media fatigue plays a partially mediating role between social media and health self-efficacy and a fully mediating role between communication overload and health self-efficacy. The results of this study can inform the development of crisis communication strategies during public health emergencies.

Economic impact of COVID-19 on income and use of livelihoods related coping mechanisms in Chad

IntroductionImpacts of the economic slowdown due to COVID-19 were prevalent in SubSaharan African countries. Using four nationally representative surveys collected in 2020 (rural n = 13,208; urban n = 1736) and 2021 (n = 14,730; n = 2,231), this secondary analysis evaluates economic impacts of the pandemic on household income and use of livelihoods-related coping mechanisms in Chad.MethodsUnivariate and multivariate regression, accounting for the survey design and sampling weights, was used to examine risk factors for reported income reduction and coping mechanism use and the associations with food expenditures and food security.ResultsThe economic impact of COVID-19 was greater in urban areas than rural areas in 2020 with improvement in urban areas and deterioration in rural areas in 2021. The reported income reduction was associated with female and unmarried household heads, living in the Saharan zone, and in rural areas, non-agricultural income sources. In urban areas, having skilled/unskilled labor as the primary income source was protective. Risk factors for the adoption of livelihoods-related coping mechanisms were similar to those of income reduction, with findings related to poor living conditions. Income reduction due to COVID-19 was associated with the use of stress and crisis coping strategies and lower household expenditure in both years and poor food consumption in rural areas in 2020.DiscussionThis study elucidates the potential impact pathways of COVID-19 from a household economic downturn to limited food spending, poor food consumption, and increased use of coping mechanisms. Findings are relevant for informing the targeting of assistance in future economic shocks and suggest prioritizing socioeconomically vulnerable households.

Public coping discourse in response to government health crisis communication

PurposeThis study aims to explore public coping strategies with government-imposed lockdown restrictions (i.e. forced compliance) due to a health crisis (i.e. COVID-19). This directly impacts the public's power, as they may feel alienated from their environment and from others. Consequently, this study explores the relationships between the public's power, quality of life and crisis-coping strategies. This is important to help governments understand public discourse surrounding perceived government health crisis communication, which aids effective policy development.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire distributed via Qualtrics received 371 responses from the South African public and structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate the public's experience of powerlessness and resulting information-sharing, negative word-of-mouth and support-seeking as crisis coping strategies in response to government-imposed lockdown restrictions.Originality/valueThe public's perspective on health crisis communication used in this study sheds light on adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies that the public employs due to the alienation they feel during a health crisis with government-forced compliance. The findings add to the sparse research on crisis communication from the public perspective in a developing country context and provide insights for governments in developing health crisis communication strategies. The results give insight into developing policies related to community engagement and citizen participation during a pandemic.

Addressing the needs of marginalised young people through school-based catch-up interventions during COVID-19: A case study from Ireland

In 2020, schools worldwide closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost one million young people and children were impacted in Ireland, with those from ‘marginalised’ backgrounds being especially vulnerable due to pre-existing inequalities. The Crisis Coping for Marginalised Young People: Living and Learning through COVID- 19 project aimed to explore youth pandemic life and learning experiences and to support the needs of, particularly marginalised, young people, culminating in the implementation of supports for students in schools. Here, we present a praxeological account of the benefits and challenges associated with our novel methodology which involved working ‘through’ 14 final-year student teachers’ practitioner research projects in their designated disadvantaged or socio-demographically diverse placement schools (11) across six counties in the Republic of Ireland, involving 269 students. Supervised closely by the lead researchers, the teacher-researchers conducted empirical research in their schools (involving questionnaires with students and interviews with Principals) to inform the design of academic, social and mixed school-based interventions which were subsequently implemented and evaluated. The empirical findings pointed to young people’s concerns about social isolation, the stability of friendships and having fallen behind academically, and Principals’ concerns about supporting those from marginalised backgrounds and about creating a safe and happy environment upon return to in-person school. In this paper, we highlight our significantly improved understanding of the COVID-related experiences of young people from marginalised backgrounds but point to the uncertain effectiveness of the interventions for improving their educational readjustment. Further, we critically interrogate the challenges encountered which constrained the lead researchers’ and teacher-researchers’ actions.

사회복지지원기관의 직무역량 향상을 위한 교육체계 개발 연구

In this study, FGI was performed on members by job and position to develop an educational system to enhance the job competency of specialized institutions to support the social welfare system in Korea. Through the process of this study, job competencies for experts in the social welfare field were derived by areas of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and an education system was constructed accordingly.
 First, as the derived job competency, professional knowledge for each job in the knowledge area, understanding social trends, social welfare-related legal knowledge, planning ability, communication ability, problem identification and solution ability in the skill area, and writing and publicity in other skills In the areas of , language, administrative ability, and attitude, there are interpersonal skills, leadership attitude, altruism, external relations ability, self-development ability, situation judgment and crisis coping ability, etc.
 Based on the derived competencies, the education system was composed of three tracks: leadership course, job competency and self-development, and statutory compulsory education.

The Influence of Family Crisis Coping Strategies on Family Quality of Life in the Assessment of Patients with Idiopathic Scoliosis.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the strategies of coping with the family crisis in children and adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis on the level of their family's quality of life (FQOL). The study group consisted of 100 adolescents (girls 83%, boys 17% of the entire main group) with an average age of 14 (13.83 ± 1.92). The control group consisted of the same number of people as the study group (girls 78%, boys 22% of the entire control group) with an average age of 14 (14.09 ± 2.16). The FQOL scale was used to assess the family's quality of life, and the F-COPES scale was used to assess the problem-solving strategies used by the family (individual members) in a difficult life situation. Statistical analysis showed significant differences between the two compared groups. While dealing with a crisis situation in their families, adolescents treated for idiopathic scoliosis were using the spiritual support strategy (M ± SD 5.12 ± 2.07) significantly more often, while their healthy peers much more willingly and more often benefited from other possible strategies (F-COPES). Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed in the assessment of children and adolescents from both groups that the usage of different strategies available on the F-COPES scale correlated and affected the areas of the FQOL level of their families. Gaining spiritual support had a negative impact on the area of physical and financial well-being of FQOL, as assessed by juveniles with SI (R = -0.254, p = 0.011). However, in the opinion of healthy peers, the strategy of gaining social support (F-COPES) resulted in a higher level of FQOL in the area of disability problems (p = 0.005). A long process of SI treatment can cause crisis situations for patients and their families and affect both the physical and mental health of patients by changing the FQOL level of their families.

Managerial capabilities and strategic renewal in family firms in crisis situations: The moderating role of the founding generation

This study examines whether founding generation managed family firms are capable of responding proactively to the COVID-19 disruption via firm renewal. We used a unique global COVID-19 crisis specific survey dataset comprising of 2,130 family firm observations. Our findings indicate that in comparison to the later generations, founding generation-managed family firms only do better at strategic renewal as a response to the crisis when they have sufficient managerial capabilities. Our study recommends that family businesses, especially those managed by the founding generations should emphasize managerial capabilities rather than merely focusing on socioemotional wealth (SEW) when deciding on crisis coping strategies.

Measuring child coping in times of societal crises: Pilot development, reliability, as well as mental health and meaning mindset convergent validity of the children's crisis coping scale (3Cs).

To date, there are no brief child self-report coping measures for the pandemic and other major societal events resulting in social or learning disruptions for children. Ignoring the voice of children can ultimately result in programs or services that fail to meet their needs. Thus, a child self-report measure called the 3Cs (Children's Crisis Coping) was developed and underwent pilot evaluation. This measure was designed in collaboration with key stakeholders using a Knowledge Translation-Integrated development framework. Some of the primary concerns that were relevant in the literature for the development of a pandemic coping measure included stress, worries, loneliness, and unpredictable school changes. The completed 4-item measure, grounded in these concerns, demonstrated good internal consistency reliability, as well as convergent validity with mental health and meaning mindset. A Second Wave Positive Psychology framework is presented concerning a spiritual concept called "meaning mindset" and it's association with positive societal crisis coping (i.e., pandemic coping in the present study).

Factors that interfere with the behavioral intention of using remote classes by Accounting Sciences Course Students of Paraná State Public institutions

The objective of this study is to verify the factors that interfere with the behavioral intention of using the classes in the remote modality by the Accounting Sciences Course Students of Paraná State Public Universities. The research was carried out through the quantitative approach and the structural equation modeling technique was used for data analysis (SEM). Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the basis, and the sample consisted of 292 respondents. The results of the study point out that the students perceived the usefulness and importance of the classes in remote modality using digital technologies, and that previous knowledge of technologies contributed positively to the ease of use perception. It was also possible to verify that the students found no difficulty accessing the classes in the environment provided by the IHE. Finally, despite all the challenges of the pandemic period and the emergency adoption of the remote classes modality, the Paraná State IHEs managed to continue with the school activities, overcoming great difficulties at a time of great uncertainty, and that the students understand that such changes were necessary, even if they didn't happen exactly as they would like to. The findings of this research are expected to contribute positively to the formulation of crisis coping strategies by the IHEs as well as to the planning of institutional virtual platforms.

Managerial Capabilities and Strategic Renewal during the COVID-19 Crisis: A Generational View

This study examines whether founding generation managed family firms are capable of responding proactively to the COVID-19 disruption via firm renewal. We used a unique global COVID-19 specific survey dataset comprising of 2130 family firm observations. Our findings indicate that in comparison to the later generations, founding generation-managed family firms only do better at strategic renewal as a response to the crisis when they have sufficient managerial capabilities. Our study recommends that family businesses, especially those managed by the founding generations should emphasize managerial capabilities, rather than merely focusing on socioemotional wealth (SEW) when deciding on crisis coping strategies.

COVID-19 Information Overload, Negative Emotions and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundUnder the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large amount of COVID-19-related information can cause an individual's perceived information overload, further halting the individual's psychological health. As a minor psychological discomfort could develop severe mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, it is necessary to understand the chain linkage of COVID-19 information overload turn to posttraumatic stress disorder to ensure timely intervention can be offered at each point of mental state transformation. Hence, we examined the negative outcomes of COVID-19 information overload and investigated the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on posttraumatic stress disorder.MethodsA convenient sample of Chinese adults (n = 1150) was investigated by an online survey from July 2020 to March 2021. The extent of COVID-19 information overload was measured by the information overload severity scale on the text of the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological distress symptoms were measured using a 7-item anxiety scale (GAD-7), the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ-9), and the psychometric properties of the PTSD Checklist (PCL-C). Structural equation modeling and bootstrap methods were utilized to analyze the relationships between variables.ResultsCOVID-19 information overload is positively related to an individual's anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, COVID-19 information overload can indirectly affect an individual's PTSD symptoms by increasing the feeling of depression. R2 values of anxiety, depression, and PTSD were 0.471, 0.324, and 0.795, respectively.ConclusionCOVID-19 information overload, anxiety, depression, and PTSD are negative psychological states, and each variable is closely linked with the others, suggesting the need for potential psychological interventions at specific times. Practical public training, such as crisis coping and information filtering, is essential. Regulation of technology companies is also essential.

The importance of community for species survival. A sociobiological perspective

The problem of the survival of human societies in the face of global crises raises the question: how did the communities of other living creatures deal with crises over hundreds of thousands of years? Analysis of crisis coping mechanisms by elephant communities; of whales and sparmaceta whales and siberian foxes - they are examples of common and important characteristics that developed in the process of evolution as a response to environmental conditions. The direction of changes in these characteristics is par excelance social and is directed at the common good. Thus, it has a pro-social character and glorifies altruism. Also in relation to human development from the sociobiological perspective - one can point to the same characteristics revealing their importance and role in the adaptation process. The example of the survival of homo sapiens and the extinction of homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) are a spectacular example of this. Such characteristics as friendliness, altruism, solidarity, responsibility, concern for the common good, prosociality have become the guarantors of survival in opposition to aggression and selfishness. In the area of culture, it is expressed in the tendency to transfer the content and standards important for the survival of WE to the area of IAM awareness. The above-mentioned characteristics, which have an anti-authoritarian and pro-democratic dimension, thus become standards for the development of human civilizations. The persistence of the timeless values that the Decalogue brings, and thus sacrifice for others and "loving your neighbor as yourself", are an example of the importance of understanding community. The characteristics important for adaptation are somehow intuitively sensed and visible in the cultural tendencies of pro-social democratic societies, expressed in community tendencies. In this context, the importance of friendship is directly related to the length and quality of human health and life.

Enhancing Employee Engagement via Leaders’ Motivational Language in times of crisis: Perspectives from the COVID-19 outbreak

By bridging theoretical perspectives from diverse disciplines including public relations, organizational communication, psychology, and management, this study advances a sequential mediation process model that links leaders’ motivational communication—specifically, direction-giving, empathetic, and meaning-making language—to employees’ organizational engagement during times of crisis. The model incorporates employees’ psychological needs satisfaction and their subsequent crisis coping strategies so as to explain the process that underlies the effects of leader communication on employee engagement. We tested the model in a unique yet underexplored crisis context: organizational crises triggered by the global pandemic of COVID-19. The results of an online survey of 490 full-time U.S. employees provide strong support to the model’s predictions. Our research extends internal crisis communication scholarship in public relations by addressing what types of leader communication strategies as well as how these strategies contribute to employee engagement in a holistic fashion. It also advances theoretical development of the motivational language theory, self-determination theory, transactional model of stress and coping, and organizational engagement—the four theoretical bases of our study—in the context of organizational crises. Lastly, the study results provide timely practical insights on effective internal crisis communication.

Individual and community learning of academics during the COVID-19 pandemic

The article presents a reconstruction of crisis coping strategies adopted by academics during the changes in higher education resulting from the SARS-Cov-2 virus pandemic. This analysis is part of a wider research project entitled “Academic Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic.” In our research, we used a focus interview to learn about e-learning experiences of lecturers and students. Due to limitations in face-to-face meetings, the interviews were conducted via the Microsoft Teams application, which significantly improved the process of consolidating the empirical material. Academic teachers from various research centers in Poland participated in the research. An important point in the team data analysis was the clear presence of community in the strategies undertaken by online distance learning at universities.

Smallholder Farmers’ Challenges of Coping with COVID-19 Containments: Insights from two food regions in Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments around the world to impose containment measures to prevent the rapid spread of the corona virus. The Indonesian government implemented “large-scale social restrictions,” which have impacted farming and farmers’ food security. Farmers are both producers and consumers of food and, therefore, have been facing new challenges due to transport restrictions, price spikes for inputs, price drops for their produce, or conditions which aggravated cooperation, such as social distancing. This study aims at analysing the challenges of the containments from a smallholder farmer perspective and examining farmers’ coping potential. A digital survey with 323 farmers has been designed as comparative observational research in Toraja, South Sulawesi, and selected regions of Java. The Bonferroni Multiple Comparison Test was used to test for significance regarding socio-economic factors and space. A logistic regression model extracted determinants for crisis coping. Results reveal, that female farmers worry more about COVID-19 outbreak compared to men at a significant level. In contrast, male farmers, particularly in Java, are more concerned about social restrictions due to limited mobility. Food price spikes were reported in both regions, with sharp increases for fish, fruits, and vegetables in Java, for staples in Toraja, and for meat and sugar in both regions. Food groups, that trade through agents and brokers or are transported longer distances were affected most due to their complex and long supply chains that were disrupted during the restrictions. In Java, farmers face multiple shocks, of which climate change was reported even more often than the pandemic related shocks. Not being able to help each other on the farm due to social distancing is a significant concern of farmers in Toraja. As a result of food market disturbances, farmers began to grow and eat more vegetables and fruits. In conclusion, food security for farmers slightly decreased due to affordability, and market disruptions already point to long-term income losses. The study team recommends to promote smallholders’ healthy food production, value addition and direct end-consumer linkages to build back better their livelihoods post-COVID-19.

Conflict Solving Skills Training for Future Teachers

The social demand of today’s society has various priorities in training future educators. They include the ability to organize productive communication with each participant of the educational process, to cope with crises in professional life, to meet their targets, to recover quickly after possible teaching downfalls and to assess the current situation and future perspectives together with avoiding some negative outcomes.This demand proves the need to train future teachers’ conflict solving skills and the possibility for such training can be realized through implementing a specifically designed module inthe educational process. It is possible to develop students’ pedagogical resiliency due to the complementary nature of cognitive, action-oriented and self-reflective components and allocating separate thematic parts.The main research methods used were the analysis of psychological, pedagogical and methodological materials on the issue considered; diagnostic methods including questionnaire and testing, and statistical treatment of the data gathered.The assessment at the last stage of the formative experiment showed the growth of pedagogical confidence, thus proving the necessity of including our module into future teachers training program. We claim that crisis coping skills are not only a personal trait of a teacher’s identity but also a basic element of their future successful career in education.