Place Attachment and Household Disaster Preparedness: Examining the Mediation Role of Self-Efficacy

Does Disaster Severity Have a Long-Term Effect on Survivors' Disaster Preparedness? A Survey a Decade after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China

OBJECTIVES

Disaster experiences have long-term effects on disaster preparedness. This study examined the long-term (10-y) effect of disaster severity of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake on survivors' disaster preparedness and the moderating effects of household vulnerability.

METHODS

The data were collected in January 2018 covering 30 counties in Wenchuan earthquake-stricken areas. The dependent variable was survivors' disaster preparedness (including overall, material, knowledge and awareness, and action preparedness) in 2018. Disaster severity included survivors' housing damage and county death rate caused by the earthquake in 2008. Household vulnerability is a set of conditions that negatively affects the ability of people to prepare for and withstand disaster, proxied by households' per-capita income and the highest years of schooling of household members. We performed multivariable linear regression models to answer the research questions.

RESULTS

A higher county death rate was associated with better overall preparedness (β = 0.043; P < 0.05) and knowledge and awareness preparedness (β = 0.018; P < 0.05), but housing damage was not significantly associated with disaster preparedness. The positive association of county death rate with overall preparedness (β = -0.065; P < 0.05) becomes weaker when a household has a higher per-capita income. Also, with the household per-capita income increasing, the associations of county death rate with material preparedness (β = -0.037; P < 0.05) and action preparedness (β = -0.034; P < 0.01) become weaker.

CONCLUSIONS

Disaster severity has positive and long-term effects on survivors' disaster preparedness. Also, the positive and long-term effects are affected by household vulnerability. Specifically, the positive and long-term effects of disaster severity on disaster preparedness are more substantial when a household is more vulnerable.

The synergetic impact of digital campaigns and economic incentives on environmental performance: the mediating role of household indoor and outdoor activities

The primary goal of this research is to look into the impact of digital campaigns for environmental and economic incentives on environmental performance, with indoor and outdoor activities of households taken as mediating variables. PLS-SEM was used to evaluate and quantify the novel and complex model to meet the study's goals. Furthermore, data were gathered from 1542 Pakistani households using convenient sampling techniques. The study's findings show that digital campaigns and economic incentives significantly increase household's participation in indoor and outdoor activities, which improves environmental performance. This study contributes to the literature on environmental performance by examining digital campaigns and economic incentives as resilient influencers. Furthermore, this study assists authorities in developing an effective and efficient policy that promotes environmental savaging information while providing economic incentives to encourage the activities. At the same time, it emphasizes environmental concerns and how they can be addressed.

Research methods challenges: A case study of preparedness in The Bahamas

Disaster research is essential for developing more robust and contextualised policies. It is, therefore, no surprise that multilateral organisations like the United Nations and the World Bank have called for enhanced disaster-related frameworks, legislation and policies in developing countries using quality data. However, internal and external researchers and practitioners often face significant challenges collecting data in these nations because of a range of problems including, but not limited to, incomplete sampling frames, inadequate infrastructure or unstable governments. This reality leads one to question: is the cart coming before the horse? This study explored individual and household (IH) preparedness in The Bahamas - a small island developing state in the Caribbean. An online survey was used, and 629 Bahamians opted to participate. However, the researchers faced many barriers to collecting representative data. This case study, therefore, discusses the range of methodological challenges faced by the researchers and their impact on this study.

Contribution

This article substantially contributes to the disaster literature by exploring the challenges associated with conducting IH preparedness research in The Bahamas. This article also reminds practitioners and academics of the issues associated with collecting data in developing nations and its implications for policy enhancement and development. Furthermore, the authors present various recommendations ranging from enhanced funding to recognising the need for methodological innovation to support continuous research in countries like The Bahamas.

Meta-analyses of motivational factors of response to natural disaster

Response behavior of individuals is of critical importance to decrease chances of injury and death as well as ameliorate costs in property and infrastructure damage in natural disasters. Plenty of studies have examined which factors motivate individuals to respond to natural disasters. However, a systematic overview of the key motivating factors of various response behaviors is lacking. This study conducts a series of meta-analyses using data of 53,713 samples from 87 studies (77 papers) conducted in 27 different countries and regions to examine how 17 motivational factors were associated with individuals' response to natural disasters. The results indicate self-efficacy, outcome efficacy, attitudes, subjective norms, and information acquisition show the strongest effects on response behavior. Contrarily, the impact of negative affects like fear, depression, and anxiety on victims is minimal, despite the common assumption that they are significant related to response behaviour. In addition, current studies have disproportionally focused on studying risk perception, experience and information acquisition, earthquake and hurricane, and evacuation and preparation, while attention given to other types of motivational factors, disasters and response behaviors is lacking.

Investigating the effectiveness of protection motivation theory in predicting behaviors relating to natural disasters, in the households of southern Iran

Background

Disasters can lead to large human casualties, destruction of property and economic and environmental resources. The purpose of the present study was to answer the question whether the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) is effective in predicting behaviors related to the harmful effects of natural disasters in the households of southern Iran.

Materials and methods

This quantitative and cross-sectional study was conducted on 528 households in Jiroft city. Sampling was done by combined method (the combination of cluster, simple random, proportional and systematic random sampling). A total of 528 households were included. The tools for collecting data were demographic information and a researcher-made questionnaire related to PMT constructs and preventive behaviors from the harmful effects of natural disasters. Data was analyzed using SPSS v21 software, and the necessary analyzes (descriptive tests, chi-square, one-way ANOVA and Pearson's correlation test) were performed at a significance level of 0.05. Using Amos v 21 software, the predictors of safety behaviors were determined using path analysis.

Results

The results showed 51.7% lived in the city and 62.1% of residential buildings were of brick without markings. There is a significant difference between preventive behaviors and direct exposure to disasters (p < 0.001), education (p = 0.004), monthly income (p = 0.004) and source of information (p = 0.040). There was also a significant correlation between preventive behaviors and the number of vulnerable family members (p = 0.001, r = 0.160). The adjusted model of the path analysis test showed that protection motivation (β = 0.547), fear (β = 0.147) and perceived vulnerability (β = 0.135) had the greatest role among the constructs of the protection motivation theory.

Conclusion

According to the results of the study, it is suggested that health planners design and implement educational interventions based on the structures of the mentioned model to increase the preparedness of households against natural disasters.

Effects of Cognitive Appraisals on Perceived Self-Efficacy and Distress during the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Empirical Analysis Based on Structural Equation Modeling

During the COVID-19 lockdown, individuals and households had to responsibly manage the difficulties and problems caused by the restrictions on their mobility, such as the interruptions to work schedules, insecure food supplies, and the procurement of services and health care. The perceptions of risk as well as the fear of disease were strongly linked to worry, defined as a sequence of thoughts that evoke negative emotions and elevated levels of anxiety and distress. This study evaluated how different cognitive appraisals of an individual's sources of worry could influence their perceived self-efficacy and directly or indirectly moderate their perceived general distress. A sample of 544 participants completed a survey that included questions based on the generalized self-efficacy scale, the sources of concern during the epidemic, the cognitive appraisal scale in emergency, and perceived discomfort. Subsequently, a structural-equation-modeling (SEM) analysis was performed to test the moderating role of cognitive appraisals and perceived self-efficacy on participants' overall distress during a lockdown. Overall, the model reported acceptable fit values and confirmed the hypotheses of the study. An individual's worries activated either a dysfunctional threat appraisal, which prompted a fear-and-closure response that then increased their overall state of distress; or two other functional appraisals (i.e., adaptive or supportive) that contributed to significantly improving the individual's self-efficacy. Higher self-efficacy was shown to be associated with lower levels of perceived distress. For the purposes of prevention and distress containment, it would be appropriate to promote psycho-educational interventions that promote the adoption of appraisal strategies that are functional and beneficial for perceived self-efficacy.

Factors related to earthquake preparedness of households based on social-cognitive theory constructs: A systematic review

Background

Earthquakes cause many casualties worldwide. Taking preventive measures and improving community preparedness is critical to reducing earthquake damage. The social cognitive theory explains how individual and environmental factors cause behavior. This review was conducted to identify the social cognitive theory structures, in research on the preparedness of households against earthquakes.

Materials and methods

This systematic review was performed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A search was conducted from January 1, 2000, to October 30, 2021 in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Studies were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The initial search yielded 9,225 articles, and finally, 18 articles were selected. Articles were assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist.

Results

Eighteen articles about disaster preparedness behaviors based on the socio-cognitive constructs were identified and reviewed. The essential constructs used in the reviewed studies included self-efficacy, collective efficacy, knowledge, outcome expectations, social support, and normative beliefs.

Conclusion

By identifying the dominant structures that have been used in studies related to the preparedness of households against earthquakes, researchers can implement appropriate and more cost-effective interventions by focusing on improving suitable structures.

Stay in Risk Area: Place Attachment, Efficacy Beliefs and Risk Coping

For residents living in earthquake-threatened areas, choosing suitable risk coping behaviors can effectively reduce the loss of family life and property. However, some residents still choose to continue to live within areas at risk of earthquake disaster. Place attachment may play an important role. Based on place attachment theory and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM), this study explores the possible relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and evacuation/relocation intention. Furthermore, it examines the mediating role of efficacy beliefs. The study also used the partial least squares method (PLS-SEM) to test samples of 327 rural households in Wenchuan and Lushan earthquake-hit areas. The results show that: (1) Place attachment has a significant effect on response efficacy (RE), but not on self-efficacy (SE); (2) Place dependence (PD) has a negative and significant effect on relocation intention (RI) but has no significant effect on evacuation intention (EI). However, place identity (PI) can indirectly affect EI by influencing RE; (3) Efficacy beliefs have a significant positive effect on EI and RI. These results help us understand the complex relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and residents’ risk coping behavior, thus providing decision-making references for the formulation and improvement of regional disaster risk management policies.

Model Driven Causal Factors of Panic Buying and Their Implications for Prevention: A Systematic Review

Panic buying is a commonly observed response to disasters, and has been widely observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the variables influencing this behavior. This review summarizes the existing research in this field and examines its implications for the prevention and control of panic buying. Methodology: All papers published prior to or during the pandemic, providing an empirically tested model of panic buying behavior (Group A) or a theoretical model supported by literature (Group B), were retrieved through a literature search. For papers in Group A, specific risk or protective factors were extracted and tabulated. Overlaps between Group A and Group B models were identified. Study results were analyzed to identify potential strategies which could limit panic buying behavior. Results: It was found that a wide variety of primary (crisis/disease-related), secondary (psychological, informational and sociopolitical), and tertiary (supply chain-related) factors were significantly associated with panic buying, while a single variable–reflective functioning was identified as protective. Conclusions: These results provide valuable leads for strategies aimed at preventing or reducing panic buying, particularly in countries still affected by the pandemic. It is hoped that these findings will be useful from both health administration and academic perspectives.