Abstract
Public participation in disaster preparedness and mitigation activities become an important part of disaster risk management. The impact of risk perception and protection motivation theory on preparedness in various types of disasters have been widely reported, and risk attitudes have similarly been studied as a factor influencing preparedness decisions. However, the adaptability of the results on the impact of risk perception on preparedness behavior was questioned in recent years. Especially in the field of geological disasters, very limited studies about the protection motivation theory and risk attitudes have been conducted in China. Therefore, this study designed a questionnaire of people’s risk perceptions and the perception of protective measures based on the protection motivation theory and individual risk attitude factors. The involved field research was conducted in Ganluo County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province in 2020. Based on the research data, the structural equation modeling method was used to analyze the effects of threat appraisal, coping appraisal and risk attitudes on people’s willingness to engage in protective behaviors. The results show that individual coping appraisals have a significant effect on the willingness to engage in adaptive behavior, and the risk attitude factor added to the extended model also shows a significant effect on the willingness to prepare for disasters. The results of the study have important practical implications for the encouragement of multilevel participation in risk management in geological hazard-prone areas.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the many individuals who helped with the data collection process, especially the research team and local participants. We also gratefully acknowledge support provided through the National Key R&D Program of China (2019YFC1510705) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A20111). Critical comments by the anonymous reviewers greatly improved the initial manuscript.
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Appendix Detailed questionnaire with statistical results and item wording
Appendix Detailed questionnaire with statistical results and item wording
Factor | Item | Response scale | N | Mean | Standard deviation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Perceived severity | If a geological disaster were to occur in my location: | Five-step 5 = fully agree | |||
Public facilities (e.g., roads) in my area would be severely damaged | 165 | 3.68 | 1.141 | ||
There would be serious damage to my house and its contents | 165 | 3.43 | 1.236 | ||
My daily life and work would be seriously affected | 165 | 3.49 | 1.252 | ||
Perceived probability | In my subjective view: | Five-step 5 = fully agree | |||
My property may one day be threatened by geological disasters | 165 | 3.22 | 1.181 | ||
The safety of my family and myself may be threatened by geological disasters in future | 165 | 3.20 | 1.180 | ||
There is a possibility that the next geological disaster will occur within five years in the vicinity of where I live | 165 | 2.92 | 1.139 | ||
Fear | In my life: | Five-step 5 = fully agree | |||
I worry about geological disasters regularly | 165 | 3.73 | 1.038 | ||
Once the rainy season comes, I become very worried about geological hazards | 165 | 4.24 | 0.890 | ||
When I think of a geological disaster, I feel scared | 165 | 3.82 | 0.977 | ||
I worry about a geological disaster affecting our families and our village | 165 | 4.01 | 0.904 | ||
Response efficacy | In my subjective view: | Five-step 5 = fully agree | |||
Afforestation can effectively reduce the occurrence of geological disasters | 165 | 3.82 | 1.047 | ||
The disaster early warning system and previous geological disaster education and evacuation training have been effective in preventing geological disasters from threatening my life | 165 | 4.18 | 0.796 | ||
Self-efficacy | Based on my experience and subjective view, to reduce losses in the event of a geological disaster: | Five-step 5 = fully agree | |||
I plant trees on dangerous slopes in front of and behind my house | 165 | 3.89 | 0.931 | ||
I can evacuate in time before geological hazards occur from early warning of hazards and familiarity with evacuation routes and shelters | 165 | 4.00 | 0.757 | ||
Response costs | What are your estimates of the costs (in terms of time, money, effort, etc.) of the following measures? | Five-step 5 = very high | |||
Planting trees in more dangerous areas such as on slopes | 165 | 2.80 | 0.964 | ||
Constant attention to early warnings and participation in evacuation training | 165 | 2.90 | 1.117 | ||
Risk attitudes | If the cost of investing in geological disaster mitigation measures were roughly equal to the results you expect to achieve, would you adopt mitigation measures? | Five-step 5 = definitely | 165 | 1.74 | 0.833 |
In the event of a geological disaster, would you discard valuables that would affect your running speed? | 165 | 1.59 | 1.024 | ||
Willingness | In your subjective view: | Five-step 5 = very much so | |||
Would you like to plant trees on some of the slopes in front of your house? | 165 | 4.30 | 0.798 | ||
Would you like to participate in evacuation drills and other similar activities? | 165 | 4.22 | 0.832 |
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Hu, Sy., Yu, M., Que, T. et al. Individual willingness to prepare for disasters in a geological hazard risk area: an empirical study based on the protection motivation theory. Nat Hazards 110, 2087–2111 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-05026-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-05026-8