Trajectories of community resilience over a multi-crisis period: A repeated cross-sectional study among small rural communities in Southern Israel

Community resilience is posited as a cornerstone in communities’ ability to cope with crises; however, the majority of studies that measured community resilience do not account for the dynamics over time and in the face of different adversities. A repeated cross-sectional design was used, analyzing a succession of surveys spanning a period of six years, to characterize changes in community resilience over a multi-crisis period among small communities in Southern Israel. The results suggest that man-made threats, particularly armed conflicts, erode resiliency to a greater degree than do the Covid-19 viral pandemic. Weak links (such as parents of young children) were identified, and a potential path towards the building of safety nets around them is highlighted, for example by encouraging bonds with healthy veteran residents during peacetime.