The Impact of Different Types of Social Resources on Coping Self-Efficacy and Distress During Australia’s Black Summer Bushfires

While social resources are known to promote positive psychological outcomes after disasters, little is known about the unique influence of different social resources on distress and coping during a disaster. This study examined the association between five social resources: sense of belonging, bushfire reciprocal support, emotional support, practical support and loneliness, and two psychological outcomes, distress and coping self-efficacy, during Australia’s 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires. Survey data collected from 2611 bushfire-affected Australians in late 2020 was analysed using regression modelling. Higher perceived emotional and practical support and lower levels of loneliness predicted increased coping self-efficacy, and higher sense of belonging and lower loneliness predicted reduced distress. However, higher emotional and reciprocal support predicted higher distress after accounting for coping self-efficacy. The findings suggest having higher access to some social resources may not directly reduce distress but may reduce distress indirectly through increasing coping self-efficacy. While access to social resources, particularly bonding social capital, is likely important for supporting psychological response during disasters, the findings suggest this may be dependent on the perceived quantity, quality and expectations of these social resources. The findings indicate that different social resources interact with disaster-related psychological outcomes in distinct, complex and sometimes non-linear ways.