TRACING THE TRACES OF DISASTER FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INTRA-FAMILY COMMUNICATION (AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH SPECIFIC TO MALATYA AFTER THE 2023 EARTHQUAKE)

Communication is undoubtedly one of the basic dynamics and requirements of social and interpersonal interaction. Because the sustainability of the social process is only possible through the expression of emotional and intellectual exchange. Making sense of this activity, which is encountered at almost every stage of daily life practice, is undoubtedly possible not only through the verbal transmissions of individuals, but also through the analysis of their written and visual expressions as well as their physical and internal attitudes and behaviours.  The 6 February 2023 earthquake, which was centred in Kahramanmaraş and affected eleven provinces, not only caused physical destruction but also had a profound impact on individuals' social relations and family communication structures. Research conducted after the earthquake showed that many individuals redefined their relationships with their loved ones and that the roles within the family changed visibly. However, this research aims to understand the transformations in family communication styles and family structures after the disaster from a different perspective in Malatya province. In this research, which was designed within the framework of qualitative research principles and designed with a phenomenological approach, semi-structured interview technique was preferred as a data collection tool. After the positive report of the ethics committee, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 participants determined by purposeful sampling and random method. The interviews were audio recorded and after transcription, they were converted into written text and analysed by content analysis method. The findings showed that emotional support, empathy and coping tendencies among individuals in the household increased significantly after the disaster. In addition, it was observed that crisis conditions led to more flexible roles within the family; mutual responsibility was taken especially in parent-child relations and social solidarity practices came to the fore. In addition, the data obtained revealed that the strong family communication structure continues in the following processes after the disaster and the process has a determining effect on psychological resilience. In this respect, it shows how important it is to integrate family-based communication policies into the process in disaster management.

Keywords

Earthquake, Crisis, Social Dynamics, Family Communication, Malatya