35-1 Junior High School Students' Psychological Recovery after Ay-Li Typhoon: A School-Based Case Study

This study was based on a damaged junior high school in Taiwan after the aftermath of Ay-Li Typhoon. The aim of this study was to explore how victims of the Ay-Li Typhoon faced and experienced during the recovery process in 2004-2006. The author wants to know how the school-based interventions were during after-disaster crisis management and the recovery process. Seven aboriginal students who were living in the damaged area and two of students’ teachers were interviewed. Qualitative research approach was adopted, with interviews and documentary analysis as data collection methods. The researcher interviewed seven students who meet the criteria for in-depth interviews in June 2006. All student interviewees lost family members in Ay-Li Typhoon, and their houses were damaged, and the roads of their houses were damaged and covered by mudflows and landslides. They experienced post-traumatic stress syndromes. The researchers also interviewed two teachers who accompanied the students during the disaster. Results reveal students’ traumatic and resilient experiences. The results are divided into nine parts, namely: the disaster caused by the typhoon, psychological reactions during the disaster; the traumas after the disaster, resettlement and reconstructions after the disaster, personal coping and adaptation, others’ assistance, the interpretation and coping of the disaster from the aboriginal cultural context, use of indigenous cultural ceremonies in the treatment of trauma, and how the students’ aboriginal identity helps them. A detailed descriptions and illustrative quotations from the participants were presented and discussed.

Keywords
disaster ; PTSD ; rehabilitation

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