Disasters and other events that are stressful can bring out a persons true nature and also may be harmful to relationships. Not all experts agree, saying that relationships might actually be improved. Natural disasters can cause much stress while acts of violence can strengthen relationships in the short term. People are in the heroic phase. This phase can become the disillusionment phase where grief, stress, anger, and even domestic violence can become a reality. Disaster can bring out the best and worst in people and relationships.
Key Takeaways:
- Balance in positive and negative contributions to a relationship are what truly determine their destiny.
- Reports greatly differ when it comes to looking at the correlation between national disasters and divorce and marriage rates.
- It is not arguable that disasters heavily impact relationships, but it is hard to predict the amount of divorces and marriages that will actually occur.
“Disasters may strengthen relationships in that marriages increased after Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Sandy, and divorce rates declined after the Oklahoma City bombing (1995) and World Trade Center terrorist attacks (2001). Divorces also declined in Bergen County, New Jersey and Los Angeles, which were areas deemed adversely affected by, and perhaps similarly vulnerable to, the World Trade Center attacks.”