Document Type
Article
Source
The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies
ISSN
1174-4707
Volume
2005-1
First Page
21
Publication Date
2005
Department
Psychology
Abstract
There is a considerable body of work concerning citizens' perceptions of risk regarding volcanic hazards, with most studies conducted in the United States and New Zealand. No comparable study has been done in Italy, where millions of residents live in close proximity to Mt. Etna and Mt. Vesuvio. This study compared the survey responses of 516 participants at Etna and Vesuvio on topics such as salience of the volcanic hazard, various measures of risk perception, perceived control over eruption effects, perceived preparedness, confidence in government officials' efforts to protect them from the eruption hazard, self efficacy and sense of community. While residents at Etna appeared to have an objective and informed perspective concerning the volcanic hazard, those residents living in the highest risk areas at Vesuvio demonstrated high levels of fear and perceived risk concerning an eruption, but low levels of perceived ability to protect themselves from the effects of an eruption. These Vesuvio residents also demonstrated low levels of awareness concerning evacuation plans, and low levels of confidence in the success of such plans.
Rights
Matthew S. Davis, Tullio Ricci & Lara M. Mitchell© 2005. The authors assign to the Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies at Massey University a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The authors also grant a non-exclusive licence to Massey University to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web and for the document to be published on mirrors on the World Wide Web. Any other usage is prohibited without the express permission of the authors.