Honors Theses
Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Stefan Schulenberg
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Objective: To explore student perceptions and attitudes toward disaster preparedness and university readiness for various disasters in order to promote future development of effective strategies to change the culture of preparedness on campuses. Methods: A total of 10 focus groups were conducted with 54 students. Participants completed general demographic information before discussing topics related to preparedness. Results: Findings revealed complacency and lack of preparedness among students for many of the disaster types discussed. Participants reported feeling most prepared for pandemic outbreaks, citing various campus preparedness efforts, while they showed the least amount of confidence in their preparedness for incidents of violence. Participants also reported being relatively unprepared and unconcerned with respect to natural disasters. Discussion: Despite a reported lack of preparedness for multiple emergency types, participants generated suggestions for increasing the preparedness of students on campus. Effective strategies could be utilized to better engage students and create a social climate encouraging preparedness on campuses. Findings, recommendations, and directions for research are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Christal, "Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding Preparedness for Campus Crises: A Focus Group Study of Undergraduates at a Southern University" (2016). Honors Theses. 191.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/191
Accessibility Status
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