Exploring Elements of Disaster Prevention Consciousness: Based on Interviews with Anti-disaster Professionals

Abstract

Many educational activities and disaster drills are conducted for the purpose of developing disaster prevention consciousness. It is necessary to develop a standardized psychological scale to measure disaster prevention consciousness; this would help evaluate the effect of activities that improve disaster prevention consciousness. To do this, a qualitative study using a Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach was conducted. First, elements of disaster prevention consciousness were explored through one-hour interviews with a total of ten disaster prevention professionals. They responded to six questions on the characteristics and behaviors of a person who seemed to possess high disaster prevention consciousness. The study yielded six elements in knowledge (ex. “Reality of disaster”), eight elements in behavior (ex. “Preparation for disaster”), and ten psychological elements (ex. “Over-reliance on one measure against disasters,” “Prediction and analysis of situations,” and “Taking a comprehensive view”). A new anti-disaster consciousness model was developed based on these elements.