Psychological Resilience and Disaster Preparedness

Overview

Given our geographical location, there is always the possibility of encountering a disaster at any moment. It is a well-known fact that families with children who have special needs face a series of challenges throughout their lives, and these challenges are known to increase during disaster situations. Therefore, it is emphasized that families with children who have special needs should be supported in every aspect. This study aims to examine the relationship between the psychological resilience levels of parents with hearing-impaired children and their disaster preparedness. With this research, the question "How can the relationship between the psychological resilience levels of parents with hearing-impaired children and their disaster preparedness be assessed, and can this relationship provide insights into how more effective support can be provided to families?" seeks an answer.

Hearing plays crucial roles in communication, responding to environmental stimuli, ensuring safety, and increasing environmental awareness. Hearing impairment refers to the partial or complete loss of a person's hearing ability. Individuals with hearing impairment experience hearing or understanding difficulties differently from those with normal hearing abilities. The degree and effects of hearing impairment vary from person to person and can be congenital or acquired later in life. Congenital hearing impairment is often due to genetic or prenatal factors, while acquired hearing loss can result from various factors such as diseases, accidents, and infections. Throughout their lives, individuals encounter numerous adverse, traumatic, anxious, and stressful events. The ability to recover and quickly return to normal life after such experiences is explained by the concept of psychological resilience in positive psychology. Psychological resilience, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association, is the ability to adapt, recover, and effectively cope with significant issues such as traumas, serious health problems, and financial difficulties. Disaster preparedness plays a significant role in reducing losses and destruction in all disaster situations. Preparedness is closely related to the concepts of risk, threat, and vulnerability. Effective disaster preparedness plans are particularly critical for children with disabilities, who are especially vulnerable during disasters. Enhanced preparedness can mitigate the care disruptions that arise during disasters, and better planning can reduce the negative responses to disaster-related stress factors. Parents of children with disabilities face high caregiving burdens and psychological challenges even without disasters. Studies show that these parents often experience feelings of frustration, helplessness, anger, and depression, highlighting the need for psychological support and relief from caregiving burdens. Effective family preparation plans and targeted education can benefit parents of developmentally disabled children, providing opportunities and methods for public health and safety planning, education, and access. Resilience interventions supporting parents of children with cancer and other special needs have shown positive effects, including enhanced social connections and support among parents.Studies indicate that parents' levels of self-compassion, psychological resilience, and social support significantly impact their overall well-being. Literature reviews reveal that studies often focus on the psychological resilience levels of parents with mentally disabled children, with findings emphasizing the need for support. However, there is a lack of research specifically examining the psychological resilience levels of parents with hearing-impaired children. This study aims to address this gap by evaluating the psychological resilience and disaster preparedness levels of parents with hearing-impaired children, thereby contributing valuable insights into how to assess resilience and preparedness for different disability groups.