Patterns of Social Support and Trajectories of Household Recovery after Superstorm Sandy: Contrasting Influences of Bonding and Bridging Social Capital
Publication: Natural Hazards Review
Volume 23, Issue 2
Abstract
Understanding how vulnerability conditions are related to disruptions in social support and trajectories of recovery after disasters is important for promoting resilience. Based on household survey data from New Jersey counties impacted by Superstorm Sandy, a hierarchical clustering method was utilized to classify recovery trajectories as well as common patterns of social support reflecting contrasting dimensions of social capital over time. Residents with a higher level of home damage relied largely on institutional sources for material and information support over the course of recovery. Younger and higher-income residents had a higher proportion of informal sources, particularly for emotional support. Patterns of social support were associated with recovery trajectories when vulnerability and disaster impact were controlled, where institutional sources for material and informational support combined with informal sources for emotional support were associated with quicker recovery trajectories. Results provide implications for bonding and bridging forms of social capital in recovery and motivate research and investments for assessing and cultivating both informal relations and institutional networks from which postdisaster social support can be mobilized.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data from household survey without individual identifying information that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and upon completion of the authors’ use of the data. Some or all models or code for hierarchical clustering and regression analyses that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant CRISP-1638311.
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Natural Hazards Review
Volume 23 • Issue 2 • May 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Mar 18, 2021
Accepted: Nov 19, 2021
Published online: Jan 10, 2022
Published in print: May 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jun 10, 2022
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