Social ties crucial for Black Saturday survivors, study finds

Social ties play an important part in the recovery of traumatised Black Saturday bushfire survivors, a landmark study has found.

A six-year study of more than 1000 people impacted by the fatal 2009 fires, led by the University of Melbourne, is one of the first in the world to track links between mental health and social connections of natural disaster survivors.

Researchers found people had better wellbeing outcomes when they had strong involvement with social networks and community groups.

However, it also found trauma could take five years or more to become manageable for many survivors and some people with strong social ties also grieved for multiple fire victims.

The report makes 12 recommendations to governments and service providers, including planning for child survivors, often overlooked in recovery programs.