Relocation Stress, Coping, and Sense of Control Among Resettlers Resulting from China's Three Gorges Dam Project

The involuntary relocation of people for development purposes has become prevalent across the world in recent decades. Depression is one of the documented negative outcomes of involuntary relocation among resettlers. Viewing the affected population simply as passive victims, past studies have largely ignored the coping strategies employed by individual resettlers in dealing with stress they experienced in the relocation process. Focusing on Three Gorges Project-induced relocation in China, this study examines coping strategies employed by resettlers using panel data collected before and after relocation. We found that emotion-focused coping was more effective than problem-focused coping in combating relocation-related depression. Unsuccessful problem-focused coping was found to elevate, rather than reduce depression. Emotion-focused coping reduces depression not only directly but also indirectly by restoring resettlers' sense of control. This study contributes to the literature by identifying coping strategies, as well as their mechanisms, that are effective in combating relocation-induced distress.