Resilience and depression among the survivors of the 2013 Yaan earthquake

Summary: Recent research on disaster survivors has increasingly emphasized the concept of resilience. Little is known, however, about the relationship between community resilience and mental health and about the moderating effects of personal and community resilience on the relationship between disaster impact and mental health among disaster survivors. Based on a cross-sectional survey of the survivors of the 2013 Yaan earthquake (N = 495) conducted in June 2014, this research examined the relationship between community economic resilience and mental health and the moderating effects of personal and community economic resilience on the relationship between disaster impact and mental health among disaster survivors. Findings: Regression analysis indicated that community economic resilience (β = −.19, p <.001) is significantly associated with depression. The relationship between earthquake impact on income and depression is moderated by community economic resilience (β =.12, p <.01) but not by personal resilience. Applications: To buffer depression among disaster survivors, social workers and other mental health professionals may help enhance their personal resilience though encouraging them to develop positive attitudes toward adversities and improve community economic resilience through promoting a more effective disaster management system.