Willingness to Prepare for Disasters among Individuals with Disabilities: An Essential Component for Building Disaster Resiliency

Authors

Dean Kyne, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-24-2023

Abstract

This study focuses on exploring the factors influencing individuals’ preparedness for disasters. Drawing upon the protection motivation theory (PMT) and the prototype willingness model (PWM), a conceptual framework was proposed to investigate the determinants of willingness to prepare for disasters and its impact on disaster preparedness. Data was collected through an online survey, involving 377 participants with disabilities and medical special needs residing in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). The collected data was analyzed using generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) to examine the associations among the selected study variables. The findings indicate that both coping appraisal and threat appraisal significantly influence individuals’ willingness to prepare for disasters, which, in turn, has a notable impact on disaster preparedness. Recognizing the significance of disaster preparedness in building resilience and effectively responding to and recovering from disasters, it is crucial to acknowledge the importance of the willingness component in these efforts to cope effectively with future extreme events.

Comments

© 2023 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Recommended Citation

Kyne, Dean. 2023. "Willingness to Prepare for Disasters among Individuals with Disabilities: An Essential Component for Building Disaster Resiliency" Social Sciences 12, no. 7: 422. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12070422

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Social Sciences

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12070422