Kiewiet, Paulien (2025) Understanding Psychological Responses to Disasters: a Systematic Review of Mental Health Trajectory Studies. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Disasters, pose significant threats to mental health, yet individuals’ psychological responses over time are highly variable. This systematic review aimed to identify the most common mental health trajectories following exposure to disasters and to examine how these trajectories differ across disaster types, mental health outcomes, and methodological and sociodemographic factors. Synthesizing findings from 35 studies (53 outcome entries), five primary trajectories were identified: resilience (60.0%), moderate stable (14.9%), recovery (11.1%), chronic (7.1%), and delayed onset (6.3%). While resilience was the primary response, nearly 40% of individuals exhibited non-resilient patterns, emphasizing substantial mental health needs in disaster-affected populations. For resilience and recovery, no significant predictors were identified. The moderate stable trajectory was more prevalent in studies using probability sampling (p = 0.046). Chronic trajectories were less prevalent after pandemics than after natural disasters (p = 0.016). For delayed onset, prevalence was higher after pandemics (p = 0.010) and human-made disasters (p = 0.003), lower among women (p = 0.017), and more frequently detected with latent growth mixture modelling (p < 0.001). These findings highlight that while most individuals show resilience, a substantial minority experience persistent or delayed distress, underlining the need for targeted mental health support after disasters.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Duckers, M.L.A. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Applied Social Psychology (ASP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Aug 2025 08:58 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Aug 2025 08:58 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5839 |
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