Latent Profiles of Perceived Community Resilience Among Adults With Direct and Indirect Disaster Exposure in South Korea

Abstract

This study investigates the heterogeneity of perceived community resilience among adults with direct and indirect disaster exposure and explores the psychosocial determinants associated with each latent subgroup by employing a person-centered analytical framework. A nationally representative online survey was conducted in South Korea with 1,406 adult participants. The survey assessed five constructs: community resilience, personal resilience, depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and post-traumatic growth. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct profiles of perceived community resilience: Active Resilience Type (ART, 28.8%), Moderate Resilience Type (MRT, 55.5%), and Vulnerable Resilience Type (VRT, 15.7%). Subsequent multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that individuals with higher personal resilience (OR = 1.71) and greater post-traumatic growth (OR = 1.07) were significantly more likely to belong to the ART group. In contrast, higher levels of depressive symptoms (OR = 0.32) were associated with decreased odds of ART membership. These findings highlight the multidimensional nature of perceived community resilience and underscore the importance of individual psychological strengths in shaping public perceptions of community recovery capacities. The study offers practical implications for the development of customized intervention strategies and policy initiatives tailored to the resilience profiles of specific community subgroups.