Disaster resilience and belief in recovery conviction among the elderly

Older adults are among the most vulnerable groups in disaster contexts, and their disaster-related beliefs and expectations remain insufficiently studied alongside their objective vulnerabilities. This study aimed to determine the relationship between disaster resilience and disaster recovery conviction among older adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 420 older adults residing in Erzincan ( n = 170) and Diyarbakır ( n = 250) provinces, located in eastern Türkiye, who voluntarily agreed to participate. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Older Adults Disaster Resilience Scale (OADRS), and the Disaster Recovery Conviction Scale for Elderly Individuals (DRCS-E). In addition to descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, simple linear regression, and moderation analysis were used to analyze the data. Participants’ mean OADRS total score was 97.49 ± 28.29, and the mean DRCS-E total score was 17.10 ± 4.56. Sociodemographic variables such as province of residence, sex, and educational level were associated with statistically significant differences in disaster resilience ( p < .05). Disaster resilience was significantly higher among older adults in Diyarbakır (104.58 ± 25.54) than among those in Erzincan (87.06 ± 28.96); recovery conviction was likewise higher in Diyarbakır (17.97 ± 4.39) than in Erzincan (15.83 ± 4.53). In addition, a positive, moderate, and statistically significant relationship was found between disaster resilience and recovery conviction ( r = .44, p < .001). The findings indicate that as older adults’ disaster resilience increased, their recovery conviction tended to increase as well. Province of residence played a significant moderating role in the relationship between disaster resilience and recovery conviction, with this relationship being stronger in the Diyarbakır sample than in the Erzincan sample. Local disaster experience and regional differences should therefore be taken into account when developing disaster management strategies for older adults.