LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF RISK PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES FOR NATURAL HAZARDS

This chapter introduces longitudinal studies in which data are collected from people at multiple, different points in time, and it discusses the utility of this method for advancing understanding of how people obtain risk information, perceive risk, and respond pertaining to natural hazards. The chapter focuses in particular on longitudinal panel surveys in which the same people are surveyed multiple times, which allows for measuring whether, when, and how that person is changing. Importantly, this allows for considering and investigating informational behaviors, perceptions, and responses as dynamic processes, and how they are driven by natural hazards. The chapter covers key challenges of conducting longitudinal studies, provides a brief illustration of one longitudinal analysis approach, and briefly summarizes longitudinal research that has been done that pertains to natural hazards. It concludes with suggestions of a few key research threads to advance knowledge about how people dynamically manage natural hazard risks in order to improve risk communication and risk management efforts.