Effects of individual resilience intervention on indigenous people who experienced Typhoon Morkot in Taiwan

Abstract

In 2009, Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan and caused serious harm to the indigenous peoples living in the southern mountainous regions. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of and the factors involved in individual resilience intervention of typhoon victims. Quantitative research was performed from October 2009 through September 2010. Purposive sampling yielded 77 indigenous persons who were willing to serve as participants in this study. These participants all maintained legal or actual residence in the areas of Kaohsiung that were affected by the typhoon. An individual resilience intervention program was implemented. The findings show the following: (1) after completing the individual resilience intervention program, the participants had higher individual resilience scores than before participating in the intervention program; and (2) individual resilience scores were significantly affected by residency after the typhoon. These findings suggest that an individual resilience intervention program is a useful approach that can be used to enhance the individual resilience of a victim and that professionals should pay more attention to victims who have to leave their hometowns after disasters.