Cumulative disaster exposure, gender and the protective action decision model

Abstract

The relationship between gender, disaster exposure, and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) is explored through a survey administered to 326 Gulf Coast residents following the Deep-Water Horizon oil spill. Structural Equation Modeling was used to find that disaster exposure demonstrated a significant negative effect on PADM, such that greater exposure was associated with lower scores (g = −3.09, p < .001). Similarly, gender was a significant covariate in the model, such that being female was associated with an increase in scores (g = 0.33, p < .05). This work highlights the relationships between gender, cumulative disaster exposure, and the PADM. Keywords: Protective Action Decision Model, Technological disaster, Disaster recovery