“We Can Manage This Corona Disaster”: Psycho-Social Experiences of a Diverse Suburban Middle-Class Community in South Africa: Interview-Based Study

The study concerns psycho-social domains experienced in a diverse suburban middle-class community, reporting the most positive cases and deepest suffering, interactions towards adaptation stressful situations, such as Coronavirus pandemic. This qualitative investigation used descriptive design, with strengths-based perspective directing two-phased method. Through non-probability convenience sampling, 80 participants completed web-based questionnaire (phase one). From those, 20 purposely selected volunteers participated individual, face-to-face, open-ended, unstructured interviews 2). Themes, interpreted one set, show how strengths resilience appear, despite extreme shock uncertainty. Transitional processes spheres reveal conscious decisions dynamic engagement, embracing change, reflecting on life’s value, regarding novel meaningful priorities contrast “before”. Most prominent relational spaces have human connections inner (close) outer (community) circles. Personal, relationships strengthen social bonds. Appreciative inquiry (AI) assisted transitional process to co-construct awareness of core, emotional agility, pride expanding newly developed strengths. Interpreted inductively, meaning described abstracted knowledge can be transferred integrated other contexts, identifying new initiatives trans-, multi-, inter-disciplinary debates mitigating consequences fostering during disasters.