Myths And Misconceptions About Disasters: Do Students In The Field Know Better?

Area of Science:

• Disaster Management
• Higher Education
• Social Science

Background:

• Disaster myths present significant challenges in global disaster risk management.
• Misconceptions about disasters act as barriers to effective disaster higher education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine disaster-related beliefs among disaster management students at the National University of Public Service, Hungary.
• To compare these beliefs with a control group of students from three other Hungarian universities.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire with 19 false statements about disaster events was adapted from David Alexander's research methodology.
• Respondents evaluated statements using a 5-point Likert scale (1=completely disagree, 5=completely agree).

Main Results:

• Hungarian students showed strong agreement with some disaster misconceptions (e.g., unburied bodies as health hazards).
• Control groups exhibited similar beliefs but were sometimes more skeptical.
• Hungarian students shared beliefs with US and Italian counterparts but were less critical.

Conclusions:

• Disaster myths are a significant issue in Hungarian disaster higher education.
• These misconceptions can negatively impact future disaster managers.
• Further critical assessment of disaster-related beliefs is needed in academic settings.