Understanding Societal Resilience-Cross-Sectional Study in Eight Countries.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Public Health
• Disaster Management

Background:

• Societal resilience is enhanced by civilian preparedness for emergencies and disasters.
• Previous research has not fully distinguished between contextual and target factors influencing preparedness.
• Understanding these factors is crucial for developing effective resilience strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze factors influencing individual and societal resilience and emergency preparedness.
• To compare preparedness levels and influencing factors across eight diverse countries.
• To identify key predictors of societal resilience.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving representative adult samples (N ≥ 500) from Italy, Romania, Spain, France, Sweden, Norway, Israel, and Japan.
• Data collected in January-February 2021, focusing on attitudinal factors.
• Multivariate analysis to determine predictors of societal resilience.

Main Results:

• Trust in emergency and health services was generally high, while trust in politicians was low.
• The average individual preparedness index was 4.44 ± 2.05 (out of 8), with variations between countries.
• Key predictors of societal resilience included trust (β = 0.59), social norms (β = 0.20), and individual resilience (β = 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Societal resilience, preparedness, and risk perception share commonalities and differences across European and non-European societies.
• Trust and social factors are significant drivers of societal resilience.
• A common model for assessing and predicting societal resilience may be feasible despite socio-cultural variations.