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Understanding the influence of psychology and vicarious experience on property flood resilience choices

Rose, Carly B.

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Authors

Carly B. Rose



Abstract

There is an acknowledged need to improve the resilience of those at risk of flooding in the UK. The majority of the at-risk population do not actively adopt mitigation measures even when they have experienced multiple flood events. If uptake of resilience methods is not increased, the physical and financial impacts will continue to escalate, as will psychological harm, with wider implications for health care costs.
Previous studies largely focus upon explicating the barriers to resilient adaptation; a hitherto under-researched aspect is an understanding of the driving factors that can elicit active mitigation in the household sector, other than repeated inundation of the home. This research builds upon existing behavioural theories to develop a conceptual framework specific to the needs of the UK flood risk management context. The framework was explored via a survey of members of community flood groups; the topics covered included details of a wide range of flood mitigation measures adopted, together with the precise nature and extent of flood experiences. The survey instrument incorporated two psychometric tests measuring personality factors (self-efficacy and locus of control) which have been implicated in a range of hazard preparedness behaviours, but have not been subjected to formal assessment in this context previously in the UK.
The results yielded new insight on the link between preparedness behaviours, personality traits and different types of flood experience. In contrast to previous UK research, the majority of the respondents (92%) had taken one or more mitigation actions in addition to joining a flood group. Furthermore, a very high proportion of respondents in the sample had begun to take action when lacking direct flood experience (26%) or having had only vicarious (or other indirect forms of) flood exposure (36%). Respondents scored significantly higher than the general adult population for general self-efficacy (GSE) (p

Citation

Rose, C. B. Understanding the influence of psychology and vicarious experience on property flood resilience choices. (Thesis). University of the West of England. Retrieved from https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1490959

Thesis Type Thesis
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Keywords Flood resilience; property level; flood mitigation; psychology; self-efficacy; decision making; vicarious experience.
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1490959
Award Date Apr 2, 2020

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