Modeling Social Networks and Community Resilience in Chronic Disasters: Case Studies from Volcanic Areas in Ecuador and Mexico

Abstract

A social network framework was used to examine how vulnerability and sustainability forces affect community resilience through exposure, evacuation and resettlement. Field work, undertaken in volcanically active areas in Ecuador and Mexico, involved structured questionnaires and ethnographic studies of resi- dents and their social networks, and interviews with government officials and political leaders. Networks were categorized into: (i) closed networks–everybody interacts with everybody else; (ii) extended networks–relatively closed cores with ties to more loosely connected individuals; (iii) subgroup networks–at least two distinct groups that are usually connected; and (iv) sparse networks–low densities that have relatively few ties among individuals. Additionally, it was found that people with less dense networks in the least affected site were better adjusted to chronic disasters and evacuations, while those with more dense networks had better mental health in the most affected sites.