Cultural Psychology of Coping with Disasters

The Case of an Earthquake in Java, Indonesia

This book offers a broad theoretical foundation by relating and contrasting relevant international literature with the outcomes of a particular research project. It provides a critical reevaluation of the complex phenomena of coping with disasters on a general level by applying this integrative theory of disaster coping to a specific context. A cultural psychological model is developed in order to suggest ways of understanding and assessing local and cultural specificity. This interaction of the general and locally specific is central to our understanding of cultural psychology of coping with disaster. The book provides a basic overview, by presenting various approaches to coping with natural disasters and relating them to each other in a coherent manner. So far, most research approaches either focus on technical, social, psychological or cultural aspects of coping, neglecting their interconnectedness. Coping is seldom seen as an extensive, long-term process, in which disaster relief complexly interacts and is integrated with the local actors and conditions. Until now, a perspective is missing, in which the mentioned modes of coping are integrated with cultural interpretations and practices and long-standing forms of communal self-help, which possibly develop in places that are frequently threatened by natural disasters.