PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Dana Hodgdon

MA-Research
May 1996

Coping and Adjustment Following a Natural Disaster: The East Bay Hills Fire

    A longitudinal investigation of the psychological consequences of a natural disaster examined the relationships among victims’ attributions, coping strategies and level of adjustment.  Surveys were distributed following a massive residential fire in Oakland, California.  Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test two hypotheses: (a) that the type of attribution given at T1 would be predictive of victims’ choice of coping strategy at T2; and (b) that coping strategies at both T1 and T2 would be predictive of psychological adjustment at T2.  In support of Hypothesis 1, the Stability and Locus of attributions were found to predict subsequent coping.  For Hypothesis 2, avoidance at T1 proved to be the strongest predictor of maladjustment.  The utility of the attributional perspective in disaster research, the relevance of these current findings to clinical interventions with disaster victims, and methodological suggestions for future research of this type are discussed.

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