An Examination of Antecedents to Perceived Community Resilience in Disaster Postcrisis Communication

Abstract

Through an online survey of residents in areas affected by Hurricane Matthew (n = 596), this study examines antecedents that lead to perceived community resilience (PCR) in a disaster crisis. Crisis efficacy, community identification, positive and negative emotions, and social media engagement are identified as factors contributing to PCR. Social media engagement was defined as coping behaviors such as, information seeking, social support seeking, and giving behaviors on social media during and in the aftermath of crisis. The results of this study provide implications for postcrisis rebuilding processes, and how government and organizational communicators can utilize social media communication to foster PCR.