Sense of community and resilience after a natural disaster

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of the sense of community in moderating the impact of a natural disaster on community members. The research project began in Central Italy in the months following a massive earthquake in 2016 that caused human and capital casualties. A previous study (Langher et al. in press) tried to identify possible protective and risk factors affecting community resilience. The present study focuses on the sense of community as a protective factor against the onset of mental health issues on a convenient sample of 100 adults. The subjects are administered the following instruments: Life events checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) (Gray, Litz, Hsu, & Lombardo, 2004); Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) (Bonfiglio, Renati, Hjemdal, & Fribord, 2016); Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) (Craparo, Faraci, Rotondo, & Gori, 2013); Personal Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-8) (Kroenke, Strine, Williams, Berry, & Mokdad, 2009); Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Lowe, 2006); Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) (Gramigni, Stewart-Brown, 2001); Multidimensional Territorial Sense of Community Scale (MTSOCS) (Prezza, Pacilli, Barbaranelli & Zampatti, 2009); Scala di attaccamento al quartiere di residenza (AQ) (Bonaiuto, Fornara, Aiello, & Bonnes, 2002) [scale on the attachment to the neighbourgh]; Local Unconscious Dynamic Intervention Questionnaire (LUDIQ) (Langher, Caputo, Brandimarte, Giacchetta, Grippo, & Nannini, 2019). An exploratory multidimensional data analysis is carried out in order to identify the possible role of the sense of community on the psychological well-being of the community members.