Abstract
Natural disasters not only cause material losses but also profoundly impact the psychological world of affected individuals, particularly their core belief systems. This study innovatively proposes the subjective perceptual concept of social capital sense, expanding the limitations of traditional objective measurements of social capital. Focusing on residents in the earthquake-stricken area of Shigatse, Tibet, China, on January 7, 2025, this research explores the dual relationships between core beliefs changes and emotion regulation. The study examines the relationships between core beliefs changes and post-traumatic growth, core beliefs changes and social capital sense, post-traumatic growth and emotion regulation, and social capital sense and emotion regulation, as well as the moderating role of individuals' religiousness orientation. A two-stage questionnaire survey was conducted with 553 affected residents, and structural equation modeling was employed for analysis. The findings reveal that core beliefs changes are significantly positively correlated with post-traumatic growth, and post-traumatic growth is significantly positively correlated with emotion regulation. Core beliefs changes are significantly negatively correlated with social capital sense, while social capital sense is significantly positively correlated with emotion regulation. Religiousness orientation moderates both the relationship between beliefs changes and post traumatic growth and the relationship between core beliefs changes and social capital sense. Among individuals with high religious orientation, the positive relationship between core beliefs changes and post-traumatic growth is stronger, and the negative relationship with social capital sense is weaker. This study provides a theoretical basis for post-disaster psychological interventions, suggesting that differentiated strategies based on the psychological dimensions of affected residents can promote more effective psychological recovery.