Coping Strategies of Parents Whose Children Have Experienced a Disaster

Shaden Gibran Moreno; Benaiah Revival Victor; Odie Endrawan; odie.endrawan.2308116@students.um.ac.id

Authors

Shaden Gibran Moreno Universitas Negeri Malang
Benaiah Revival Victor Universitas Negeri Malang
Odie Endrawan Universitas Negeri Malang
odie.endrawan.2308116@students.um.ac.id Universitas Negeri Malang

Keywords:

Coping Strategies, Disasters Affecting Children, Parents

Abstract

The presence of a child brings happiness to parents; however, disasters affecting children can trigger intense emotional distress, including guilt, deep sadness, stress, anxiety, and depression. These conditions may disrupt parents’ mental and physical health as well as their social functioning. Therefore, coping strategies are essential to help parents manage such psychological pressures. This study aims to identify coping strategies used by parents whose children have experienced disasters (natural, Unnatural, and social) using a systematic literature review approach. The analysis was conducted on six relevant studies based on the theoretical framework of Lazarus and Folkman (1984), which classifies coping into problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. The findings indicate that problem-focused coping includes engaging in activities, religious practices, helping others, and advocating for the child, while emotion-focused coping involves seeking social support, accepting reality, maintaining emotional balance, and avoiding negative thoughts. Social support emerged as the most dominant coping strategy and plays a key role in enhancing parental adaptation. It facilitates the integration of active problem-solving and emotional regulation. Therefore, strengthening social support systems is recommended as a primary intervention to improve the well-being of parents in disaster contexts.

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