Teenagers’ risk perception and awareness in the context of cultural bias and prior earthquake event in Iran

In the literature of disaster, teenagers’ risk perception has not grown along with the impacts of disasters on them. Furthermore, little is known about teenagers’ cultural bias toward risks as a factor influencing human judgment and opinion about phenomena. This study seeks to fill these gaps in the literature through a comparative analysis conducted in two earthquake-prone areas; one has had a previous catastrophic seismic event and the other has not. Primary data were captured by an on-site survey using structured questionnaires developed through holding focus groups. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Risk perception and awareness were compared among teenagers from two areas with different cultural bias. Interestingly, a significant difference was observed in the effect of prior event on teenagers’ risk perception from two areas, but no remarkable difference in the effect of cultural bias. Teenagers mostly tend to have hierarchism bias toward risks as a result of their social surrounding influence. This is a clear implication in risk communication, measures and actions that may implement by stakeholders as tendency toward risk reduction and preparedness is a function of bias and past experience.