Studying the impact of multiple behavioral variables on hurricane preparedness behaviors among employees at institution of higher education in Florida

In disaster research, university employees are typically overlooked in natural hazard-related studies. This paper seeks to address this research gap by analyzing different behavioral variables (risk perception, social norms, efficacy, and level of responsibility) to answer the following research question: What significantly influences hurricane preparedness behaviors of university employees in Florida? A cross-sectional survey was conducted at four universities in Florida (N = 238 respondents). The survey looked at three hurricane preparedness behaviors: assembling a disaster preparedness kit, establishing a disaster evacuation protocol and developing a disaster contact protocol. Based on the regression analysis, the R² of the three behavioral models ranged between 0.5 and 0.76. Among the behavioral variables, perceived personal competence and efficacy of response had a statistically significant (p < 0.05) impact on the employee's intention to engage in hurricane preparedness actions. The variance analysis indicates statistically significant differences in the efficacy of response for establishing a disaster evacuation protocol based on the university location, in perceived personal competence for assembling disaster preparedness kits based on occupation/job, and in perceived personal competence for establishing disaster evacuation protocols based on living in hurricane-prone areas and dwelling type. This study proposes that more studies should look into the preparedness behaviors of employees on US campuses as they are the first line of information for others on campus, and their knowledge of and willingness to undertake preparedness behaviors are critical in achieving more hurricane-resilient college communities overall.