Investigation of Psychological Resilience and Secondary Traumatic Stress Levels of Volunteers Helping Individuals Experiencing Kahramanmaraş Earthquake

Authors : Ebru Başkaya, Halime Durkut, Sevcan Sevimli

Pages : 33-43

View : 44 | Download : 68

Publication Date : 2025-12-19

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The aim of our study is to examine the psychological resilience and secondary traumatic stress levels of volunteers who provided assistance to individuals who experienced the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. A descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 95 volunteers who provided assistance to individuals who experienced the Kahramanmaraş-based earthquakes between March and April 2023. Participant Information Form, Psychological Resilience Scale for Adults (PRAS) and Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) were used to collect data. 93.7% of the participants had listened to a traumatic life event from the people with whom they were in a helping relationship, 71.6% had experienced a traumatic life event, and 55.8% rated their workload in a week as 5 in disaster work. The mean total score of the PRAS was 130.11±22.28 and the mean total score of the STSS was 39.74±12.40. In addition, a negative and moderately significant relationship was found between PRAS and STSS (p<0,05). These findings show that the majority of the participants were exposed to traumatic life events and faced with an intense workload in disaster work. In addition, these findings reveal that the participants generally have a good level of psychological resilience and are exposed to moderate levels of secondary trauma stress.
Keywords : Earthquake, psychological resilience, secondary traumatic stress, voluntary helping behaviour

ORIGINAL ARTICLE URL