RISK AND RESILIENCE IN PARENTS, CHILDREN AND TEACHERS FOLLOWING REPEATED EXPOSURE TO NATURAL DISASTERS
YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA
The nation of Indonesia is a geological area of instability. Since 2000, Indonesian families have experienced 20 major earthquakes, 32 floods and landslides, four volcanic eruptions and one disastrous tsunami. Although Indonesia’s plight is not atypical for the Asian-Pacific region, it has been described as one of the “hardest hit” countries, and as such, it is an ideal location to examine the broader questions of how humans react mentally and physically to repeated natural disasters in this part of the world. Through a partnership established with a local university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia , this project seeks to examine the impact of repeated/chronic exposure to natural disasters on parents and children, understand how parents can buffer children’s responses to these disasters, and examine the efficacy of a psychoeducational/skill-based intervention delivered to parents.
Partners
Since 2008, PBB has partnered with Universitas Sanata Dharma and school districts in Java to train local practitioners to deliver psychosocial support to almost 500 parents and dozens of teachers. Other members of the research and project team include graduate students in psychology at Gadja Mada University, also in Yogyakarta. Collaborators in the United States include faculty and doctoral students from the University of California, Irvine who focus on trauma research and biological markers for events.
Publications
Seyle, D.C., Widyatmoko, C.S., & Silver, R.C. (2013). Coping with natural disasters in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: A study of elementary school teachers. School Psychology International, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 387-404. Download.
Widyatmoko, C.S., Tan, E., Seyle, D.C., Mayawati, E.H. & Silver, R.C. (2011). Coping with natural disasters in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: The psychological state of elementary school children as assessed by their teachers. School Psychology International , Vol. 32, No. 5, pp. 484-497. Download.
