Effects of Anxiety, Disaster Education, and Resources on Disaster Preparedness Behavior

The thrust of this study is to understand the responses of anxiety-prone people to threats like natural disasters. It examines whether anxiety influences disaster preparedness, and whether disaster education and resources mediate between anxiety and disaster preparedness. Data were collected from 300 people, each from flood-prone and heat-wave-affected areas in Orissa, India. Controlling for the influence of age and family type, the results revealed that trait anxiety decreased flood and heat-wave preparedness. Further, it was found that disaster education and resources are partial mediators between anxiety and flood preparedness and full mediators between anxiety and heat-wave preparedness. Implications of the findings are discussed within the socioeconomic and cultural contexts of India.