Examining the dynamics of interpersonal communication networks for disaster coping among a multiethnic community

ABSTRACT

Interpersonal communication networks serve as a critical source of disaster support, yet their dynamic role in disaster coping remains less explored. Drawing from the literature on resilience organizing and network social capital, the current study investigates how individuals from diverse backgrounds re-construct their interpersonal communication networks in response to an emerging disaster and the impact of such networks on disaster-coping outcomes. Using a community survey of multiethnic residents affected by the 2021 Texas Winter Storm, we found that individuals re-constructed their communication networks by developing more racially heterogeneous and stronger interpersonal ties in response to the disaster, and these patterns varied across major ethnic groups. Moreover, individuals’ preexisting interpersonal communication relations both facilitated and constrained their disaster network reconstruction.

KEYWORDS:

• Interpersonal communication networks
• social capital
• disaster coping
• multiethnic community

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors .

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Mass Communication & Society Division Research Award at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).