(PS1-A19) Preparatory Pandemic: How COVID-19 Shaped Emergency Preparedness Behavior on College Students

Introduction: Research in the last several years has demonstrated the substantial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on psychological symptoms and behavior across many different groups, including college students.  Disasters and crises have been shown to impact multiple dimensions of behavior, including preparedness behaviors for disasters and emergencies. Furthermore, disaster preparedness has been shown to reduce the impacts of disasters on mental health symptoms. While research has investigated the direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health symptoms among college students, little research has investigated how this population’s preparedness behaviors has been impacted. The present study investigated changes in household preparedness among college students from before the start of the pandemic to shortly after the start.

Method: Prolific was used to gather a nationwide sample of undergraduate students (N=389, mean(age)=21, 52.44% White, 48.98% Female). Participants completed a series of self-report measures through Qualtrics in mid-June to mid-July, 2020. Participants completed two forms of the 26-item Preparedness Checklist (EPC), a measure of individual/household preparedness behaviors. The EPC has demonstrated reliability and validity for use in this population and captures a wide range of emergency preparedness behaviors (Wirtz, Rohrbeck, & Burns, 2019).  The first form asked them to report which behaviors they had completed prior to March 1, 2020 (i.e., before the pandemic) and the second asked them to report any behaviors they had completed after March 1, 2020 (i.e. after the start of the pandemic). Paired t-tests were used to investigate changes on the EPC from before the start of the pandemic to shortly after the start.

Results: A paired t-test revealed a significant increase in EPC score from before to after the beginning of the pandemic (t=4.77, p<.001). Investigations of individual items revealed changes in specific behaviors as well, with significant increases in the number of participants who reported their household had completed the following: storing a three-day supply of food (t=11.51,p< .001) storing a three day supply of water (t=10.02, p< .001), and seeking emergency education (t=6.47, p< .001, among others.

Discussion: The findings presented here suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had an influence on the emergency preparedness behaviors of college students and their households. Notably, undergraduates in the sample were more likely to report having acquired additional supplies and taken steps to learn about appropriate emergency preparedness behaviors than prior to the pandemic. Additional analyses will explore the relationship between the EPC and mental health measures in this sample.