Levels of risk perception amongst citizens in Rome

Only very few of the participating Italian citizens perceive a high or very high risk of a disaster in their area (4%), whereas almost half (42%) believe this risk to be low or very low. However, levels of worry/concern were higher, with more participants agreeing than disagreeing that they are worried or concerned about potential disasters in their area (see Table 5 below - as shown in source document). Again, slight differences between male and female results were found to be not statistically significant (p>=.05), and there are also no statistically significant differences between age groups. However, this perception of a rather low level of disaster risk appeared not to be connected with any previous experience of disasters – which may, potentially, be explained by the participating citizens’ experience being based on experiences of close friends or family members – and was only weakly related to any increased interest in receiving information about disaster preparedness measures (RS=.274). On the other hand, feelings of worry and concerns show stronger correlations with several attitudes and (intended) behaviours related to disaster preparedness, in particular interest in information about preparedness measures (RS=.397) which, in turn, is strongly related to preparedness intentions (RS=.590) and moderately to the participants’ desired frequency of participation in disaster training activities (RS=.362). Accordingly, motivating for participation in disaster preparedness activities, through citizens’ interest in preparedness-related information, may require appealing to Italian citizens’ emotions rather than merely informing about disaster risks.

Note: See source document for full reference.

Cultural Factors: Norms/values, Communication

Hazards: Natural hazards, Man-made non-intentional hazards or emergency situations, Man-made intentional hazards

Disaster Phases: Preparedness

Types of Actors Concerned: National civil protection body, Local authorities

Recommendations:

• Develop guidelines for disaster practitioners that take into consideration the different needs of and approaches to different ethnical groups
• Develop risk assessments methodologies, which consider cultural factors, the manner in which people cognitively process information and which employ a gender perspective