Abstract

Objectives: This study was carried out to assess the relationship of psychological hardiness and ego-resiliency with the mental health of youth and adult survivors of earthquake-stricken areas of Bam, and also to determine the contribution of each of the predicting variables.

Method: This research is a descriptive retrospective study. 314 youth and adult (138 males, 176 females) survivors of Bam earthquake, who were selected through convenience sampling participated in this research. All subjects completed Ahvaz Hardiness Inventory (AHI), Connor-Davidson Resilience (CD-RIS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and Demographic Inventory. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used for statistical analysis.

Results: A positive significant correlation was seen between hardiness and ego-resiliency and mental health (p<0.01). In addition, the results showed that hardiness and ego-resiliency are able to predict mental health significantly (p<0.001). In this research, resiliency was the best predictor of mental health.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that hardiness and ego-resiliency are important and fundamental in the preservation and promotion of mental health in earthquake-stricken subjects. The two mentioned variables are able to explain the high rate of mental health variation in adverse conditions and considering them in disaster mental health is essential.�