Stress, coping, and mental health outcomes following a natural disaster: Bereaved family members and friends compared

A longitudinal exploratory design was used to assess levels of stress, self-efficacy, social support, health status, and recovery one and three years following a disaster. Study participants were 31 relatives and 18 friends of deceased disaster victims. Data were collected by questionnaires and interviews and were analyzed by multivariate statistics. Results indicate that relatives' scores in two of the three health outcome measures were significantly higher than friends. Only four of the 49 participants reported full recovery three years postdisaster. Opportunities for innovative interventions as well as advancing theory development for practice are discussed.