scholarly journals Trauma journalism and disaster resilience. German journalists’ coping strategies when reporting about crime, violence, accidents, crises and natural disasters

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Verhovnik

Accidents, violent crimes, war and natural disasters are traumatic experiences for individuals directly and indirectly involved, and often result in long-lasting consequences which are difficult to deal with. Journalists who report on these incidents are part of this group. Since the events on 9/11, this topic has shifted into the public’s focus, but there is still little known about the effects of crisis coverage for the journalists involved. The results of 30 semi-structured interviews show a dependence on coping strategies for the specific job situation, and a dependence on third variables, such as age and individual resources.

2021 ◽  
pp. 193672442110356
Author(s):  
Elmira Jangjou

In response to students’ food insecurity, a number of colleges and universities have taken action and established campus food pantries as part of their intervention plans. However, many of these pantries ceased operation due to COVID-19 campus shutdowns. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the short-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on postsecondary students, who use a university-provided food pantry. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with 12 participants, the thematic analysis explored the initial coping strategies these students used to endure the pandemic. Findings revealed that many students experienced the immediate effects of the pandemic in the form of income loss, self-isolation, anxiety, and appetite change. Although the pandemic interrupted these students’ journeys to continue their studies and become independent in various ways, the affected students implemented various coping strategies, including seeking help from family or friends, using available resources, cooking at home, and even trying to save money. However, considering that the targeted population in this study was already at risk because of their basic needs insecurity, these postsecondary students require extra attention from their higher education institutions in the case of emergencies, such as a global pandemic. In addition to its timely and relevant findings, this study provides important avenues for future research and intervention efforts.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Sabzi Khoshnami ◽  
Fardin Alipour ◽  
Maliheh Arshi ◽  
Hassan Rafiey ◽  
Mohhamad Hossein Javadi

Community reintegration of ex-offenders is a main issue for reducing recidivism. This article aims to explain the process of reintegration into the community based on the experiences of people who have been convicted of violent crimes in Iran. A qualitative study based on grounded theory was conducted in 2020 in Tehran/Iran. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 participants. An institutional review board approved the study. Results indicate that the “worry trap” is the main challenge that those convicted of violent crimes face upon reentry into society. If these individuals are provided with governmental and non-governmental services and support, they can move toward “restoring their lost social capital.” The “redefinition of an independent identity” is a consequence of released individuals’ struggle to restore their lost social capital. Further research exploring the causality of social capital and improved outcomes after release from prison and reentry to community is needed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105477382110166
Author(s):  
Alessia Martina Trenta ◽  
Davide Ausili ◽  
Rosario Caruso ◽  
Cristina Arrigoni ◽  
Massimo Moro ◽  
...  

This study aimed to explore lived experience of patients with heart failure (HF) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study was conducted using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Data collection performed in March-May 2020, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews on a purposive sample. Data were analyzed according to the IPA methodology, and triangulation, bracketing, journaling, and member checking were used to assure rigor. 14 patients with HF were enrolled, and three main themes described their lived experience during the COVID-19 pandemic: Vulnerability, Hanging in the balance, and Coping strategies. These people felt particularly vulnerable to the novel virus and experienced uncertainty due to hospital organization changes. Because of this, they felt like they were hanging in the balance, experiencing various negative feelings. Nevertheless, they managed to deal with this challenging situation by implementing some peculiar coping strategies. The COVID-19 represents a significant challenge for patients with HF, impacting significantly on their lives.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 8035
Author(s):  
Ayman Nagi ◽  
Meike Schroeder ◽  
Wolfgang Kersten

The aim of this work is to detect communities of stakeholders at the port of Hamburg regarding their communication intensity in activities related to risk management. An exploratory mixed-method design is chosen as a methodology based on a compact survey and semi-structured interviews, as well as secondary data. A compact survey at the port of Hamburg is utilized to address the communication intensity values among stakeholders. Based on 28 full responses, the data is extracted, cleansed, and prepared for the network analysis using the software “Gephi”. Thereafter, the Louvain community detection algorithm is used to extract the communities from the network. A plausibility check is carried out using 15 semi-structured interviews and secondary data to verify and refine the results of the community analysis. The results have revealed different communities for the following risk categories: (a) natural disasters and (b) operational and safety risks. The focus of cooperation is on the reactive process and emergency plans. For instance, emergency plans play an important role in the handling of natural disasters such as floods or extreme winds.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Rosa Linde ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Siqueira

Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities. Its consequences to pregnancies has made governments, national and international agencies issue advices and recommendations to women. There is a clear need to investigate how the Zika outbreak affects the decisions that women take concerning their lives and the life of their families, as well as how women are psychologically and emotionally dealing with the outbreak. We conducted a qualitative study to address the impact of the Zika epidemic on the family life of women living in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the US, who were affected by it to shed light on the social repercussions of Zika. Women were recruited through the snowball sampling technique and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. We describe the effects in mental health and the coping strategies that women use to deal with the Zika epidemic. Zika is taking a heavy toll on women’s emotional well-being. They are coping with feelings of fear, helplessness, and uncertainty by taking drastic precautions to avoid infection that affect all areas of their lives. Coping strategies pose obstacles in professional life, lead to social isolation, including from family and partner, and threaten the emotional and physical well-being of women. Our findings suggest that the impacts of the Zika epidemic on women may be universal and global. Zika infection is a silent and heavy burden on women’s shoulders.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 1345-1354
Author(s):  
Fran Smith ◽  
Elizabeth Banwell ◽  
Roby Rakhit

A qualitative design was used to explore the experience of positive adjustment following a heart attack. Ten men attending a cardiac rehabilitation programme completed in-depth semi-structured interviews. An overarching theme: ‘I was in control of it from the start’ emerged with six subthemes, relating to intrapersonal and interpersonal factors and processes. The subthemes reflected the importance of identifying controllable versus non-controllable factors and employing adaptive coping strategies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masefako A. Gumani ◽  
Mattheus E. Fourie ◽  
Martin J. Terre Blanche

Orientation: Identification of the inner coping strategies used by South African Police Service (SAPS) officers who do operational work is something the SAPS should consider to ensure the officers’ management of trauma and efficiency at work.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to describe inner coping strategies used by officers in the Vhembe district (South Africa) to reconstruct stressful and traumatic experiences at work.Motivation for the study: Most studies on coping amongst SAPS officers focus on organisational stress and not on the impact of the officers’ operational work.Research design, approach and method: An exploratory design was used and 20 SAPS officers were selected through purposive sampling. In-depth face-to-face and telephone interviews, as well as diaries were used to collect data, which were analysed using content thematic data analysis.Main findings: The results showed that the main categories of coping strategies that led to management of the impact of operational work amongst the selected sample were centred around problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies, with some use of reappraisal and minimal use of avoidance. Considering the context of the officers’ work, the list of dimensions of inner coping strategies amongst SAPS officers should be extended.Practical/managerial implications: Intervention programmes designed for the SAPS, including critical incident stress debriefing, should take the operational officers’ inner strategies into account to improve the management of the impact of their work.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the inner coping strategies amongst SAPS officers, with special reference to operational work in a specific setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-240
Author(s):  
Florian Wintterlin ◽  
Katherine M. Engelke ◽  
Valerie Hase

In a digital world, journalists increasingly integrate user-generated content (UGC) in their coverage. Journalists use coping strategies to dispel the audience’s supposed concerns about the reliability of this new type of sources and to maintain the audience’s confidence in such coverage. Transparency, in particular, is often considered as a means to preserve journalism from accusations of being biased and untrustworthy. We focus on the audience’s perception and evaluation of two transparency strategies: transparency about the origin of UGC and transparency about verification attempts. Based on semi-structured interviews with German users (N = 26), this study analyzes recipients’ perceptions of transparency strategies journalists use when integrating UGC. Most of the respondents rarely perceive transparency about source origin or verification in their everyday media use. Even when noticed, transparency efforts barely seem to increase journalistic trustworthiness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-08
Author(s):  
Mawardi Djamaluddin ◽  
Suryani Hi Umar

Natural disasters that occur over a long period of time and the level of damage that occurs often affect the psychological condition of the individual causing individuals to experience traumatic experiences that are hard to forget. Traumatic experiences experienced as a result of natural disasters also influence one's view of the natural disaster itself. Some people may have rational views while others have irrational views. This irrational view often makes individuals feel even more traumatized by the bad experiences they have experienced. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of rational emotive behaviour counselling in reducing irrational beliefs experienced by people experiencing natural disasters. The research method used was quantitative with an experimental design. The research subjects were earthquake victims in Tomara Village, South Halmahera Regency who had irrational beliefs in the high category based on the results of filling in data from the irrational belief scale. The results showed that rational emotive behaviour therapy counselling was effective in reducing irrational beliefs experienced by people experiencing natural disasters.


Author(s):  
Ilan Diamant

This report discusses the advantages and challenges in using direct psychological personality profile and psychodynamic assessments (corresponding to Otto Kernberg’s model of personally organization) of suicide bombers and lone actors. Two studies that administered various psychological instruments (i.e., self-report inventories, semi-structured interviews, and projective tests) were used to assess these subjects in a prison setting, before or after their trial. Main findings showed that suicide bombers displayed low levels of ego strength with dependent and/or avoidant personality styles, while most of the lone actors presented evidence of psychiatric histories. Also, the main methodological advantages and challenges of the assessment procedures and instruments utilized are discussed. Self-report inventories were found to be less valid. In contrast, semi-structured interviews assisted in identifying a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of both personality dynamics and the discerning of traumatic experiences in participants’ background related primarily to their family history. Projective tests had limited and restricted responses i.e., lacked the necessary complexity. This pattern likely reflected those participants with either limited mental resources, maladaptive personality styles, or hostile responses toward their assessors. Future directions are discussed in a psycho-cultural theoretical perspective regarding the development risk/threat assessment instruments to discern potential perpetrators who are victims of trauma in families living under specific cultural contexts. We assume that these victims’ manifest dissociation defences, present tendencies to activate mobilization, and immobilization energetic systems. These systems evoke complex behaviour patterns triggering suicidal tendencies coupled with rage tendencies aiming to end the lives of others, in this context, perceived political enemies.


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