An integrated model of psychological preparedness for threat and impacts of climate change disasters

Abstract

The reality of unfolding global climate changes and their increasingly evident impacts with respect to the frequency and intensity of natural disasters all over the world gives the matter of psychological preparedness for disasters a compelling currency and relevance. Psychological preparedness differs from household or physical preparedness in that what is referred to is an intraindividual and psychological state of awareness, anticipation, and readiness - an internal, primed, capacity to anticipate and manage one's psychological response in an emergency situation. Results of many studies suggest that personality is fundamental to the understanding of resilience and preparedness for disaster. The aim of the present study was to apply the method of response functions (MRF) for the development of nonlinear integrated model of individual psychological preparedness from data and prior knowledge or information on several personality variables: trait anxiety, self-efficacy, dispositional optimism and self-esteem. The proposed model can be applied as effective assessment tool not only for the basic level of psychological preparedness but also for indication of the most important variables for pre-impact intervention. © 2013 WIT Press.