The Relationship Between Death Anxiety and Psychological Resilience Among Adults After the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes

Abstract

On 6 February 2023, the south of Turkey was shaken by two severe earthquakes. The community as a whole was affected by this massive disaster in a variety of ways, in addition to the individuals who experienced the earthquakes directly. After traumatic events such as natural disasters, death anxiety come to the fore as an important risk for public mental health. The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between death anxiety and psychological resilience in adults following earthquakes. The research group consisted of 415 individuals (female=284, male=131, mean age=24.20, ±5.32) who live outside the earthquake zone and did not directly experience the earthquake. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 24.0 software package, and the analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, hierarchical regression, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). As a result of the analysis, it was found that psychological resilience and the total score (r=-.27, p<.001) and sub-dimensions of death anxiety had negative significant relationships. In addition, it was determined that the hierarchical regression model established to explain death anxiety was significant and the final model explained 12% of the total variance (F(4,410)= 14.59, p<.001, R2 =.13, ΔR2=.12). However, the results indicated that death anxiety did not differ between groups according to education level and income status. It is believed that clarifying the relationship between death anxiety and psychological resilience and the factors that are effective may contribute to the development of public mental health strategies, particularly in the aftermath of massive and highly destructive natural disasters like earthquakes.

Keywords

• Death Anxiety
• Natural Disaster
• Psychological Resilience
• Public Mental Health
• Türkiye Earthquakes

6 Şubat 2023 Kahramanmaraş Depremleri Sonrası Yetişkin Bireylerde Ölüm Kaygısı ve Psikolojik Sağlamlık Arasındaki İlişki

Öz

6 Şubat 2023 tarihinde Türkiye’nin güneyi iki şiddetli depremle sarsıldı. Bu büyük afet sadece depremi doğrudan yaşayan bireyleri değil tüm ülke halkını farklı şekillerde etkilemiştir. Doğal afetler gibi travmatik olaylar sonrası ölüm kaygısı toplum ruh sağlığı için önemli bir tehlike olarak gündeme gelmektedir. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı da depremlerin ardından yetişkin bireylerde ölüm kaygısı ve psikolojik sağlamlık arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektir. Araştırma grubu deprem bölgesi dışında olup depremi doğrudan yaşamayan 415 kişiden (kadın=284, erkek=131, yaş ort.=24.20, ±5.32) oluşmaktadır. Veri analizi SPSS 24.0 paket programı ile yapılmış ve analizde tanımlayıcı istatistik, Pearson Momentler Çarpımı Korelasyon Katsayısı (PMÇKK), hiyerarşik regresyon ve tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonucunda psikolojik sağlamlık ile ölüm kaygısı toplam puanı (r=-.27, p<.001) ve ölüm kaygısı alt boyutları arasında negatif yönde anlamlı ilişkiler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, ölüm kaygısını açıklamaya dönük kurulan hiyerarşik regresyon modelinin anlamlı olduğu ve son modelin toplam varyansın %12’sini açıkladığı tespit edilmiştir (F(4,410)= 14.59, p<.001, R2 =.13, ΔR2=.12). Diğer taraftan ölüm kaygısının eğitim düzeyi ve gelir durumuna göre gruplar arasında farklılaşmadığı belirlenmiştir. Özellikle deprem gibi tüm toplumu etkileyen ve tahribatı yüksek doğal afetlerin ardından ölüm kaygısı ile psikolojik sağlamlık arasındaki ilişkinin ve etkili olan faktörlerin ortaya koyulmasının toplum ruh sağlığı stratejilerinin geliştirilmesine katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Doğal Afet
• Ölüm Kaygısı
• Psikolojik Sağlamlık
• Toplum Ruh Sağlığı
• Türkiye Depremleri

Kaynakça

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