A SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF MEASURES FOR HELPING PERSONS BEREAVED DUE TO NATURAL DISASTERS

概要

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The objective of this study was to seek measures that would help ordinary people alleviate the grief of those who have lost family members in a natural disaster. Detailed interviews were conducted with bereaved persons after the Nihonkai Chubu Jishin (earthquake) of 1983 and Nagasaki Suigai (flood) of 1982. The then local government officials, journalists and community leaders, as well as a Buddhist priest and a psychiatrist were interviewed. Alleviation measures found to be effective were recovering the remains of the dead promptly; giving the bereaved a chance to confirm that death had occurred and to have a last look at the remains; utilizing anything available to substitute for the lost target of love; helping the bereaved to discharge and share their grief by showing high evaluation and respect for the dead; lessening anxieties about financial matters, solitude and lack of general knowledge; protecting the bereaved from exposure to extremely crude or cruel facts about the dead; helping them to recognize that the tragedy was caused by a "natural disaster"; and arresting the spread of malicious rumors about economic gains by the bereaved because of the disaster, or about the responsibility of the dead or the bereaved. Cultural and environmental factors, personal traits and the unique characteristics of the disaster also were found to be involved.
日本自然災害学会の論文