Investigation of civil engineering students’ general disaster preparedness beliefs

In response to the increasing number of natural disasters worldwide, understanding the disaster preparedness of civil engineering students becomes essential for societal resilience.This study investigates the relationships between socio-demographic factors, disaster awareness and preparedness levels among civil engineering students.It also aims to provide insights that could potentially inform and improve disaster response strategies, thereby contributing to the development of a more resilient society.This cross-sectional study, conducted from September 25, 2023, to January 5, 2024, involved civil engineering students at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University.Data were collected via an online survey on Google Forms, which included socio-demographic questions and the General Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale.The collected data were analyzed to assess students' socio-demographic characteristics, their disaster preparedness levels, and the relationships between these variables.Lastly, a linear regression model was applied to evaluate the effect of independent variables on the General Disaster Preparedness score.The study included 220 participants, with 77.7% male and 22.3% female, and an average age of 22 years.Notably, 37.3% of participants reported prior experience with disasters.The participants exhibited an average total score of 110.59 (±15.38), with scores ranging from 67 to 151.The key factors affecting disaster preparedness score were found to be gender (p