Risk Perception of Natural and Human-Made Disasters-Cross Sectional Study in Eight Countries in Europe and Beyond

Have Coping Resources and Trust in State Institutions Helped Jews and Arabs to Overcome Stress During the Iron Swords War?

The events of 7 October 2023 and the subsequent Iron Swords War have profoundly impacted Israeli society, leaving both Jewish and Arab populations exposed to unprecedented levels of violence and uncertainty. This study examined the roles of trust in state institutions and a sense of coherence (SOC) as coping resources that may mitigate psychological distress following exposure to such events. Four hundred and seventy-one participants (69.9% Jewish, 30.1% Arab) filled out a questionnaire that addressed the demographics, war exposure, trust in institutions, SOC, and mental-health outcomes. The Jewish participants reported greater exposure to war events, a stronger SOC, and less psychological distress than the Arab participants. Levels of trust in different institutions varied significantly between the groups, with Jews expressing greater trust in the military and Arabs reporting higher levels of trust in the parliament, educational system, and media. SOC protected against psychological distress among both groups. Trust in the military was associated with lower levels of distress among Jews, whereas trust in the parliament was linked to higher levels of distress among Arabs. This study highlights the need for tailored interventions that enhance the SOC and address disparities in institutional trust, to foster resilience among different sociocultural groups.

Positive relationship between education level and risk perception and behavioral response: A machine learning approach

This paper aims to examine the influence mechanism of education level as a key situational factor in the relationship between risk perception and behavioral response, encompassing both behavioral intention and preparatory behavior. Utilizing non-parametric estimation techniques in machine learning, particularly the Random Forest and XGBoost algorithms, this study develops predictive models to analyze the impact of 27 influencing factors on behavioral responses following risk perception. The findings indicate that, while the model's fit for preparatory behavior is 25.71% and its fit for behavioral intention is below 20%, the model effectively identifies key influencing factors. Further analysis employing SHAP values demonstrates that education level not only exerts a significant influence but also exhibits varying effects across different educational groups. Moreover, statistical testing corroborates the importance of education level in the relationship between risk perception and behavioral response, providing a robust scientific foundation for the development of risk management policies.

Psychological influences and implications for household disaster preparedness: a systematic review

Introduction

Household disaster preparedness remains critical yet underachieved, despite substantial investments in mitigation infrastructure. Understanding psychological drivers affecting the implementation of household preparedness measures helps distinguish families fully prepared for disasters from those not, thereby improving disaster education. Psychological drivers may promote, hinder, or have no impact on household preparedness. This review fills a significant gap by systematically categorizing psychological factors influencing household disaster preparedness, an area that remains underexplored in previous literature, aiming to provide recommendations for developing more effective psychological interventions and coping mechanisms.

Methods

A systematic literature search was conducted using PRISMA guidelines, analyzing published studies (2017-2024) from Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. Two authors determined the eligibility of studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results

A total of 35 studies were included in this review. Regarding cognitive appraisal, risk perception generally promotes household preparedness. Hazard intrusiveness, perceived efficacy, and perceived response efficacy encourage preparedness. Regarding motivation and intention, self-efficacy and perceived benefits boost preparedness, and the transfer of responsibility regulates the influence of trust on household preparedness. Regarding social interaction, formal support, and community resilience promotes preparedness, whereas informal support and social norms may impede it. Regarding bonds with the living environment, place attachment promotes housing protection but hinders relocation. Sense of place hinders permanent evacuation or relocation.

Discussion

Disaster prevention and management should emphasize the responsibility of individuals and families in reducing disaster risks, clarify the consequences and probabilities of disasters, refine social norm indicators, and develop a resettlement planning incorporating place identity cultivation to improve effective household preparedness.

The impact of 24/7 news coverage on the mental health of Israelis in the 'Iron Swords' War: A cross-sectional analysis among television audience

This study aims to assess the impact of continuous 24/7 news broadcasting on the mental well-being of Jewish Israelis during the 'Iron Swords' War and compare it to findings from the 2014 Conflict. An internet-based cross-sectional panel survey was conducted on 11-12 October 2023, during the 'Iron Swords' War. The study focused on Israel's adult Jewish population, enabling comparisons with a previous 2014 study. Participants reported news consumption changes, attitudes towards newscasts (burdensome, relaxing, stressful, addictive, Fear Of Missing Out [FOMO], avoidance), opinions on 24/7 news, and anxiety symptoms. Among 802 adult Jewish participants in Israel, 83.8% increased news consumption. While more than 70% of respondents found the newscast stressing at least a medium level, more than 40% said they do not try to avoid them at all. Nearly 24% found it much addictive. Women and younger individuals reported more FOMO, stress, and addiction. More than 70% reported experiencing at least one anxiety symptom, and 21% of all four. Linear regression explained 42.9% of the variance of reported anxiety, with gender, age, news stress, addiction, and FOMO as predictors. The current study results show an increase in all measurements compared to a separate study conducted using the same tools in 2014. Jewish Israelis struggled with news consumption during the recent war, harming mental health. Heightened anxiety was observed, compared to 2014, and affected all demographics.

Natural and human-made disaster and associated health outcomes among community-dwelling older adults in India: Findings from LASI, 2017-18

BACKGROUND

Droughts, flash floods, rail accidents, and riots are relatively regular occurrences for those living in many low- and middle-income countries like India. While such natural and human-made disasters put everyone in harm's way, their toll on specific segments of society-like older adults-is the heaviest. Therefore, in this study, we examine (1) the prevalence of natural and human-made disasters in India and (2) the association between natural and human-made disasters and several physical and mental health outcomes among older Indians.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing data come from the 2017-18 wave 1 of the nationally representative Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, comprising a sample of 29,333 older adults (14,120 males and 15,213 females) aged 60 years and above. Multivariate random intercept multilevel logistic regression analysis is used to examine the association between natural and human-made disasters and poor self-rated health, difficulty in activities of daily living, difficulty in instrumental activities of daily living, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, depressive symptoms, and psychiatric disorder.

RESULTS

Overall, 3.58% of older adults reported that they have encountered any type of natural or human-made disaster in the past five years. Compared to those who did not experience any (natural or human-made) disaster, older adults who experienced any disaster had a higher prevalence of poor self-rated health (33.4% vs 23.31%), difficulty in activities of daily living (33.94% vs 23.00%), difficulty in instrumental activities of daily living (60.09% vs 47.70%), communicable diseases (49.57% vs 25.86%), depressive symptoms (17.30% vs 8.06%) and psychiatric disorders (3.42% vs 2.78%). After adjusting for the selected variables and the contextual effect, the odds of poor self-rated health (1.64 [1.40, 1.92]), difficulty in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living (1.89 [1.61, 2.21] and 1.63 [1.40, 1.89]), communicable and non-communicable diseases (2.12 [1.83, 2.46] and 1.38 [1.20, 1.60]), depressive symptoms and psychiatric disorder (1.67 [1.55, 2.05] and 1.52 [1.33, 2.18]) were significantly higher among older adults who experienced a natural or human-made disaster than their counterparts without such an experience.

CONCLUSIONS

Relative to their non-exposed counterparts, older Indians who survived natural or human-made disasters endured an inflated risk of poor self-rated health, functional difficulties, communicable and non-communicable diseases, depressive symptoms, and psychiatric disorders. As such, post-disaster efforts should be grounded in policies and programs that address disaster-related trauma and diseases and improve the functional, physical, and psychological facets of health among older disaster survivors.

Do first responders and populations perceive risks similarly? A comparative study of seven countries

Introduction

Risk perception illustrates the subjective evaluation of individuals concerning the characteristics, severity, and capacity to cope with potential hazards. Risk perception influences attitudes and actions individuals take to protect themselves from future threats. Risk perceptions might change among different stakeholder groups such as society and first responders. Identifying risk perceptions of stakeholders is essential to establish effective protective measures.

Method

This study investigated the commonalities and diversities in risk perception among first responders and the public, within and between seven European and beyond countries. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data from both first responders and civilians. They were asked to assess their risk perception level for five categories of risks (Extreme weather-related events, nature-related events, social disruptions, critical services dependencies, and pandemics).

Results

Using Univariate Analysis of Variance showed disparity concerning both the levels of risk perception between the public and first responders, as well as their relative ranking. For example, concerning extreme weather-related and nature-related events, risk perception levels of the first responders is higher than that of the population in six out of the seven studied countries. In contrast, the population's risk perception is higher compared to the first responders in six out of the seven countries, concerning critical infrastructure dependencies and pandemics.

Discussion

The relative gaps between the first responders versus the population, within each country, vary considerably. Norway for example presents significant differences between the two internal populations concerning all risks (except for extreme weather), while in Sweden, no significant gaps were identified, concerning all five risks.

Natural multi-hazard risk perception and educational insights among Geography and Tourism students and graduates amid the Covid-19 pandemic

Multi-hazard risk perception is an emerging research topic that has been gaining more and more interest since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the unprecedented interactions between the management practices of the pandemic and of other co-occurring natural hazards, and to the compounded impact of these multi-hazards. This paper aims to investigate the specialization and study level-dependent differences concerning multi-hazard risk perception and hazard-related education insights of future potential specialists in natural hazard-induced risk management and tourism reconstruction. These differences were explored by applying a multi-layer questionnaire on 547 Geography and Tourism students and graduates from two universities in Iași City (Romania) and Novi Sad (Serbia), and performing descriptive and differential statistical analyses. The statistically significant differences that emerged refer to estimations of the impact level of the Covid-19 pandemic and of other natural hazards at different spatial scales and on different socio-economic activities, on the training/career of the respondents, and to the hazard-related education improvements. Up to date, none of the papers in the existing literature integrate both the Covid-19 pandemic and the co-occurrent natural hazards as objects of students' perception, which makes the present study a starting point for such research endeavours.

Social determinants and adherence to recommended COVID-19 vaccination among the Arab ethnic minority: A syndemics framework

Background

Since the mass vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 was launched in Israel, the Arab ethnicity minority had lower vaccine uptake. The syndemics theory suggests a closely interrelated complex of health and social crises among vulnerable societies results in an increased disease burden or in more adverse health conditions. Syndemics may explain the health disparities between different people or communities. Likewise, acculturation was found to be associated with different health outcomes among minority populations. The purpose of the study is to explore the association between syndemic construct, acculturation style, and adherence to recommended COVID-19 vaccination among the Arab ethnicity in Israel.

Methods

A cross-sectional study among 305 participants who completed a self-report questionnaire. Syndemic construct (syndemics score and syndemics severity) was calculated from the participants' health behavior index, self-rated health status, and adherence to flu vaccination. Four acculturation strategies were defined according to Barry's acculturation model: assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization style. Linear regression (stepwise method) was conducted to determine the explanatory factors for COVID-19 vaccine adherence.

Results

Assimilation and separation acculturation styles and syndemics severity were significantly associated with higher adherence to the recommended COVID-19 vaccination (B = 1.12, 95%CI = 0.34-1.98; B = 0.45, 95%CI = 0.10-0.80; B = 0.18, 95%CI = 0.09-0.28; respectively). The explained variance of the model (R ²) was 19.9%.

Conclusion

Syndemics severity, assimilation and separation acculturation styles were associated with higher adherence to recommended COVID-19 vaccination in the Israeli Arab minority population. Syndemics score was not associated with recommended COVID-19 vaccination. To encourage COVID-19 vaccination among minority communities, campaigns should be tailored to the social determinants in a sensitive and individualized manner.