'I'm surprised they were so surprised': Lessons in the importance of culture for understanding the construction of emotional coping capacities in the consecutive flood context

Citation

Connon I (2022) 'I'm surprised they were so surprised': Lessons in the importance of culture for understanding the construction of emotional coping capacities in the consecutive flood context. 82nd annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (hybrid on-site and online), 22.03.2022-26.03.2022. https://www.appliedanthro.org/annual-meeting/virtual-meeting-agenda

Abstract
Examination of the experiences of people in Scotland affected by consecutive floods shows that people with disabilities are often less likely than others to experience profound fear during subsequent crises. Application of an anthropological perspective reveals that differences in coping are not merely reflective of differences in previous experiences of floods, but reflective of differences in everyday human-environmental interactions that shape differences in adaptive capacities. I argue that for people with disabilities specific socio-cultural ideas important for ontological security are continuously called into question during times of normalcy, which result in greater capacity for embracing uncertainty during times of crisis.

People

Dr Irena Connon

Lecturer, Social Work

• SfAA 2022 IC