The Relationship between Trust, Socio-demographic Factors and Lithuanian Population’s Preparedness for Environmental Threats

Abstract

The increasing risk of environmental disasters encourages more attention to be paid to increasing public preparedness. In this context, researchers usually focus on community resilience. Although this is an important part of community resilience, individual preparedness for crises is less frequently analysed. Studies analysing the factors determining individual preparedness pay much attention to sociodemographic characteristics. However, there is an increasing number of studies emphasising the importance of trust in government institutions and the community. The article presents a study that analysed the links between trust in the ability of state institutions, municipalities and communities to respond effectively to various crises and emergencies, and sociodemographic factors with the assessment of preparedness for environmental crises in Lithuania. The results of the study show that trust in state institutions, community, education, the place of residence and the assessment of the place in society are significantly related to the assessment of preparedness for ecological crises. The results contribute to understanding what factors shape society’s preparedness for environmental challenges and emphasise the importance of trust in the state and community.