Development of a Disaster Attitude Scale and Assessment of University Students' Attitudes Towards Disasters

Year 2019, Volume: 19 Issue: 4, 457 - 467, 26.10.2019

Ayça Hatice Türkan , İbrahim Kılıç , Murad Tiryakioğlu

https://doi.org/10.21121/eab.476531

Cited By: 4

Abstract

Humanity
is exposed to numerous disasters all around the world. Both natural and
man-made disasters might lead to very important economic and social
consequences and might pose a significant threat to public health and its
future. This
study aims to develop a scale to measure attitudes towards disasters by
considering three dimensions of attitude: cognitive, affective and behavioural.
A survey-based study was carried out on a sample of 787 undergraduates at Afyon
Kocatepe University in Turkey. A five-point Likert scale including 23 items was
used to quantify students’ attitudes. The results obtained from the survey
revealed a high level of affective attitudes and a low level of behavioural
attitudes among the university students. Moreover, affective and behavioural
attitudes differed based on the students’ genders and their study programme.
Attitudes towards disasters are not at the required level according to these
measurements made at the local level. It is necessary to produce and implement
policies in the scope of preparation for a possible crisis.

Keywords

Attitude scale, disaster, earthquake, public health

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