I get weekly updates of preparedness-related news articles, most of which similar: “how to get prepared for disasters” or “unbelievable survival stories,” but this one caught my eye: study uncovers predictors of individuals’ preparedness for natural disasters and trust in disaster assistance.
I was curious of their findings because I’ve long believed that people are just born different when it comes to a topic like survivalism. At least, people either “get it” or they don’t. Sure, encountering a life-threatening situation could transform even the most ardent sheeple into a diehard prepper overnight, but thankfully most people don’t encounter such traumatic experiences. Even so, I’m willing to bet that most people who do experience such catastrophes just chalk it up to a “shit happens” moment and go on about their lives.
Unfortunately, the article was underwhelming to say the least. Their “findings” essentially came down to this:
The study—like previous studies—found that those more likely to have an evacuation plan and emergency kit and to trust disaster assistance had one or more of the following characteristics: they were men, had previous disaster experience and worked part-time or full-time.
That’s like saying people who go to the beach tended to wear swimsuits, lol, at least with respect to representing the male demographic. But the study does also suggest that I was wrong in my earlier assumption, specifically that those who where were most likely to be prepared “had previous disaster experience,” which I’m taking to mean they experienced some sort of disaster in their lifetime. Come to think of it, I have, in a small way, experienced natural disasters as a kid. But I never thought of it as “the” life-changing experience that turned me into a prepper. It’s more likely that 9/11 was “the” turning point in my life, though those events never directly affected me or my family.
Anyway, the study continued:
The study found that individuals 55 and older were more likely to say they knew where to access emergency information, how to stay safe during a natural disaster and that they trusted the assistance offered by local governments and the National Guard.
I completely believe that older adults were more likely to understand about preparedness; this just comes from having lived life and experienced problems. But I was surprised to see that “they trusted the assistance offered by local governments and the National Guard.” In my experience, older folks tended to be more self-reliant and less trusting of the government, but that could just be the circles I engage with.
For what it’s worth, the study’s sampling felt horribly skewed to draw any real conclusions, though I’m no statistician:
The respondents represented the United States population in terms of age, race/ethnicity, gender and Census region, Blackburn said.
They most often identified as female, non-Hispanic white, 34 years old or younger and living in the South. In addition, they had a high school diploma or less, had full- or part-time employment with an annual household income of less than $25,000 and identified politically as Democrat.
Are we talking about college-aged women who responded? I can’t imagine any of them thought a lick about preparedness until the recent flooding events in Texas.
One last statement stood out:
“For the latter, however, we also found that Democrats felt more confident than Republicans in their ability to access emergency information,” Blackburn said.
This also surprised me as I’ve long believed that Republicans (more specifically, conservatives) had their pulse on disaster-related information. In fact, it would shock me if conservatives didn’t heavily outweigh the other side regarding preparedness.
Now I’m beginning to think that this study by Texas A&M University was conducted by a few fraternities after a long night of partying with the sororities, lol.
Regardless, at least it shows that some people are waking up. It may not be the demographic I’d assumed, but it’s something.
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