Association between sense of coherence and health and well-being among older survivors of a natural disaster: a prospective outcome-wide study

Abstract

Abstract We examined whether pre-disaster Sense of Coherence (SOC) mitigated the impact of housing damage on health and well-being of older survivors after the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. A panel survey was conducted in a city located 80 km west of the epicenter seven months before and three years after the disaster (3594 respondents). Among respondents with lighter property damage, higher SOC was inversely associated with mental distress (coefficient − 0.29, 95% CI (confidence interval) − 0.39, − 0.19, p < .01), unhappiness (coefficient − 0.33, 95% CI − 0.43, − 0.23, p < .01), low expectation of mutual help (coefficient − 0.17, 95% CI − 0.27, − 0.07, p < .01), and weak community attachment (coefficient − 0.20, 95% CI − 0.30, − 0.11, p < .01). Conversely, among those who experienced housing loss, higher SOC was no longer protectively associated with health and well-being. Loss of generalized resistance resources due to serious damage led to difficulties in stress coping.