# Coping strategies and psychological outcomes following the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes: a systematic review with meta-analytic synthesis

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how different coping strategies affect mental health outcomes in people who survived the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes.

## Contribution

The study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of coping strategies and their associations with psychological outcomes after the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye.

## Key findings

- Resilience is strongly linked to lower psychological distress, including trauma, depression, and anxiety.
- Religious coping and positive reappraisal show small but inconsistent associations with reduced PTSD symptoms.
- Meaning-centered coping and self-compassion are linked to higher posttraumatic growth, though findings are preliminary.

## Abstract

The 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes caused unprecedented devastation across southern Türkiye, resulting in widespread psychological distress among survivors. Identifying coping strategies linked to better mental health outcomes is essential for guiding post-disaster support.

To systematically synthesize quantitative evidence on associations between coping strategies and psychological outcomes (PTSD/trauma symptoms, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic growth [PTG]) among adult survivors of the 2023 earthquakes, and to meta-analyze associations reported in at least two independent studies.

Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and a preregistered OSF protocol (osf.io/7z2pe), four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and DergiPark) were searched for quantitative studies published in Turkish or English. Ten cross-sectional studies (total N = 6,223) met inclusion criteria. Data were extracted using a standardized form, study quality was appraised with an adapted Newcastle–Ottawa Scale, and random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for coping–outcome pairs reported in ≥2 studies; remaining associations were summarized descriptively.

Meta-analytic evidence indicated that resilience was consistently associated with lower psychological distress, including post-earthquake trauma severity (pooled r = −0.44), depression (r = −0.41), anxiety (r = −0.43), and overall distress across four studies (r = −0.42). Perceived social support/support-seeking coping was moderately associated with lower PTSD/trauma-related symptoms (pooled r = −0.31). Religious coping (pooled r = −0.21) and positive reappraisal (pooled r = −0.19) showed small inverse associations with PTSD symptoms but with substantial heterogeneity. In single-study analyses, meaning-centered coping and self-compassion were associated with higher PTG, suggesting potentially important pathways that require replication.

Coping processes are meaningfully linked to psychological adjustment after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. The most robust evidence supports resilience and social support as protective correlates of lower distress. Evidence for religious coping and positive reappraisal is suggestive but heterogeneous, and PTG-related findings remain preliminary due to limited replication. Longitudinal and intervention-based research is needed to clarify causal mechanisms and inform culturally responsive disaster mental health programs.

https://osf.io/7z2pe/overview.