Curvilinear relationship between disaster exposure and psychological growth:10 years after the Wenchuan earthquake

Abstract

The extent of disaster exposure is a crucial predictor of both negative and constructive changes influenced by natural disasters. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is the typical psychological growth that is defined by significant changes for the better in self-view, relationships, and life philosophy as a result of exposure to a traumatic incident. However, findings of previous studies examining the effects of disaster exposure on PTG are inconsistent. The primary aim of this study was to re-examine the nature of the association between the extent of disaster exposure and PTG in a sample of 1,000 adult survivors of the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake (occurred in 2008) over 10 years ago in China. The results indicated that, after controlling for the effects of demographic factors (i.e., gender, age, residential area site, and marital status) and socioeconomic status (i.e., educational background and annual household income), disaster exposure showed weak linear but strong inverted U-shaped relationships with different PTG domains. In other words, participants who had been exposed to low or high levels of disaster showed low levels of PTG, while those exposed to moderate levels of disaster exhibited high levels of PTG. The result of the study not only enhanced current understanding of the consequences of disaster exposure but also outlined a long-term support system for post-disaster construction activities.

Keywords: China; Disaster exposure; Posttraumatic growth; Sichuan/Wenchuan.