Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104745
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) The driving effect of experience: How perceived frequency of floods and feeling of loss of control are linked to household-level adaptation
Author Köhler, L.; Han, S. ORCID logo
Source Titel International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
Year 2024
Department SUSOZ
Volume 112
Page From art. 104745
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Keywords Flood risk management; flood experience; loss of control; protective behavior; Protection Motivation Theory; Structural Equation Modeling; Germany; adaptation
Abstract This study examines how perceived and remembered flood experiences, measured as frequent flood experience (FFE) and loss of control experience (LCE) during the last flood, are related to individual protection motivation. Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) builds the theoretical basis of this study, describing protection motivation as a result of threat and coping appraisals. To evaluate the relationship between flood experience and protective behavior, we applied structural equation modeling using survey data from 2020 conducted in Saxony, Germany (n = 1,884). Four main conclusions can be drawn: first, both applied measures of experience, FFE and LCE, are positively associated with threat appraisal, leading to a positive link to protection motivation. Second, FFE and LCE negatively relate to coping appraisal, culminating in an overall negative relationship with protection motivation. Third, FFE has a stronger direct link to protection motivation, and LCE has a stronger indirect link via threat and coping appraisals. Fourth, the relationship between LCE and threat appraisals decreases over time, while the relationship between FFE and threat appraisals does not diminish. The study underscores the importance of considering individual flood experience to understand protective behavior in the context of increasing flood frequencies. Moreover, including affective measures of experience, such as LCE, can improve our understanding of why some flood-prone people undertake protective measures whereas others do not.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=29487
Köhler, L., Han, S. (2024):
The driving effect of experience: How perceived frequency of floods and feeling of loss of control are linked to household-level adaptation
Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 112 , art. 104745 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104745