Form Submission: Participation Entry

Research Day Entry

Landslide-displacement and wellbeing in Banjarnegara, Indonesia

Environmental-displacement may be associated with significant health effects, but little research has examined this relationship. This qualitative project assessed the experience of landslide-displacement as it relates to mental health and wellbeing in Banjarnegara, Indonesia, where landslides and flooding are common. We conducted qualitative interviews with 21 participants who had been displaced because of landslides and analyzed interviews using a phenomenological approach. Findings revealed that respondents experience environment-displacement in three temporal phases. The first is characterized by extreme disbelief and hopelessness. During the second phase, respondents move out of the immediate shock of the landslide and begin building a life in their new location. In this phase, wellbeing and mental health are deeply tied to having a physical space to call one’s own. In the third phase, respondents move forward with their lives but grapple with being held back by memories of their experience and continued fears for their future.