Daily spiritual experiences, impact of events and post-traumatic growth in individuals affected by the February 6 earthquake

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the impact of traumatic events, daily spiritual experiences, and post-traumatic growth among individuals aged 18 and above who were affected by the two devastating earthquakes that struck on February 6, 2023, centered in the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş, occurring approximately nine hours apart with magnitudes exceeding 7, and impacting eleven provinces. Within the framework of quantitative research, a correlational survey design was employed. The study sample consisted of 786 participants, including 489 women (55.9%) and 347 men (44.1%). Data were collected through the Impact of Event Scale (Çorapçıoğlu et al., 2006), the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (Akın et al., 2013), the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (Dirik & Karancı, 2008), and a socio-demographic information form. Surveys were administered both online via Google Forms and through face-to-face distribution. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS 22, where independent samples t-tests were applied for two-category variab les, and ANOVA was used for variables with more than two categories, including age, marital status, educational level, economic condition, and earthquake-related factors. The findings indicated that scores on the Impact of Event, Daily Spiritual Experience, and Post-Traumatic Growth scales varied significantly according to gender, age, education, mari tal status, economic condition, and earthquake-related variables. Differences were also obser ved between the subdimensions of the scales and socio-demographic factors. Furthermore, significant associations were identified between the impact of events (and its subdimensions of intrusion, hyperarousal, and avoidance) and post-traumatic growth (with subdimensions such as relationships with others, philosophy of life, and self-perception), as well as between daily spiritual experiences and post-traumatic growth and its subdimensions. Moreover, while daily spiritual experiences did not predict the impact of events, they were found to be a signi ficant predictor of post-traumatic growth.