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<br />Friday. July 12 <br /> <br />1:15 p.m.-2:45 p.m. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Coping Self-Efficacy Following Disasters <br /> <br />Charles C. Benight <br />Psychology Department <br />University of Colorado at Colorado Springs <br /> <br />This presentation will address the role of coping self-efficacy in the post-disaster psychological <br />and physical responses. Five separate samples have demonstrated a strong relationship between <br />how capable individuals feel in dealing with disaster specific demands and how well they are <br />able to adapt. The data suggest that the greater your perceived coping efficacy the lower your <br />psychological distress levels and physical reactivity. The first study was conducted with 180 <br />Hurricane Andrew victims selected from the most devastated areas in the greater Miami region. <br />The second sample was 36 HIV -infected men who also endured Hurricane Andrew. The third <br />study, which is still underway, is with victims from Hurricane Opal, which hit the Florida <br />Jl"nhllndle last fall. The final sample is with a small sample (27 individuals) who were directly <br />adjacent to the Federal Building in Oklahoma City the morning it was bombed. Implications for <br />intervention strategies will be discussed. In particular, focus will be on the current critical stress <br />debriefing strategies utilized today and how these data may inform us on how best to conduct . <br />(or possibly not conduct) these debriefings. <br /> <br />Oklahoma City Bombing Relief Project and <br />Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) <br /> <br />Sandra A. Wilson <br />Spencer Curtis Foundation <br /> <br />A major nation relief effort to assist the victims and rescue workers of the Oklahoma Bombing <br />was provided by the EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs and the Spencer Curtis <br />Foundation. Over a 5-month period, five pro bono trainings for 287 Oklahoma licensed <br />therapists were provided to instruct them in this relatively new psychological treatment for <br />trauma victims and persons suffering from symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. Two <br />hundred victims were provided free EMDR treatment by volunteer therapists from around the <br />country. The results and long-term effects of this program on the community will be discussed. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />?~ <br />