Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2020 Oct 28;18(1):350.
doi: 10.1186/s12955-020-01594-8.

Social capital, policy fairness, and subjective life satisfaction of earthquake survivors in Wenchuan, China: a longitudinal study based on post-earthquake survey data

Dianxi Wang  1 , Danyang Li  2
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Social capital, policy fairness, and subjective life satisfaction of earthquake survivors in Wenchuan, China: a longitudinal study based on post-earthquake survey data

Dianxi Wang et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: Existing research has rarely examined an earthquake's sustained impact and the trajectory of the earthquake survivors' life satisfaction over time. This study aims to analyze longitudinal changes in life satisfaction of Wenchuan earthquake survivors and the impact of social capital and government relief policy.

Methods: This research applied a hierarchical linear model to longitudinal survey data collected after the earthquake. The survey was divided into three waves and was collected from Deyang City and Mianyang City of Sichuan Province. A random sampling method was used; a sample of 225 participants had valid responses over three waves of the survey.

Results: This study found that a survivor's social capital and the perception of the fairness of government relief policy have a significant effect on the trajectory of life satisfaction post-disaster. First, the initial life satisfaction of those with high social capital was significantly higher than of those with low social capital, whilst survivors with high social capital had a lower rate of change in life satisfaction. Second, one year after the earthquake, those who felt government policy was unfair had a lower life satisfaction than those who felt it was fair. However, from the first year to the fourth year after the disaster, survivors who believed that the government policy was unfair experienced a higher rate of change in life satisfaction than those who did not. Third, the fairness of government relief policy moderates the relationship between survivors' social capital and changes in life satisfaction. A fair policy of relief can reduce the negative impact of the lack of individual social capital on life satisfaction.

Conclusions: Survivors reconstruct life satisfaction through their social network and the perception of the fairness of the government's post-disaster relief policy. Therefore, to promote the improvement of life satisfaction of survivors, it is necessary to cultivate social capital and ensure fairness of the relief policy.

Keywords: Life satisfaction; Policy fairness; Social capital; Wenchuan earthquake.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The views expressed in the submitted article are the authors’ own and not an official position of the institution or the funders.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Fairness of relief policy and change in survivors’ subjective life satisfaction
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Social capital, fairness of relief policy and change in survivors’ subjective life satisfaction
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. National Bureau of Statistics. Statistical communique of the People’s Republic of China on national economic and social development in 2008. https://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/ndtjgb/qgndtjgb/200902/t20090226_3002.... Cited 21 May 2019.
    1. Calvo R, Arcaya M, Baum CF, Lowe SR, Waters MC. Happily ever after? pre-and-post disaster determinants of happiness among survivors of hurricane Katrina. J Happiness Stud. 2015;16(2):427–442. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang X, Gao L, Zhang H, Zhao C, Shen Y, Shinfuku N. Post-earthquake quality of life and psychological well-being: longitudinal evaluation in a rural community sample in northern China. Prog Photovoltaics Res Appl. 2000;1(1):427–433. - PubMed
    1. Tasiemski T, Nielsen S, Wilski M. Quality of life in people with spinal cord injury-earthquake survivors from sichuan province in China. Asia Pac Disabil Rehabilit J. 2010;21(2):28–36.
    1. Priebe S, Marchi F, Bini L, Flego M, Costa A, Galeazzi G. Mental disorders, psychological symptoms and quality of life 8 years after an earthquake: findings from a community sample in Italy. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2011;46(7):615–621. - PubMed

Publication types