How self-efficacy and response efficacy change with risk and adaptation behaviors during tropical cyclones

Environmental hazards are made worse in a changing climate, and adaptation may hinge on whether individuals can effectively act. One of the most powerful antecedents to personal action is efficacy (self and response), but past research on efficacy's role in personal adaptation does not explore its relationship to time and changing risk as dynamic factors associated with adaptation. In this study, we investigate the relationship between efficacy and adaptation behavior alongside changes in personal risk during tropical cyclones (TCs) in the days between TC prediction to landfall. From our analysis of three (2020–2022) TCs in the U.S. that threatened 4,306 participants, we demonstrate that (1) time moderates the positive association between momentary levels of personal risk and response efficacy and (2) adaptation behaviors positively associate with momentary levels of response efficacy, but not self-efficacy. Rather than measuring efficacy as a static force, our approach demonstrates the potential for longitudinal studies to improve theory and practice for socio-cognitive theories of personal adaptation.