Behavioral intentions for social drought protection: insights from the extended parallel process model

The impact of climate change-induced droughts necessitates comprehensive mitigation strategies. This study employed the Extended Parallel Process Model to analyze the factors influencing individuals’ behavioral intentions for social drought protection in South Korea. Using survey data from 1000 participants, this study explored the interplay among perceived threat levels, perceived efficacy, fear arousal, and fear control. The key findings revealed that (1) higher levels of perceived threat, perceived efficacy, and fear arousal were associated with greater intention to protect against drought, whereas higher fear control was associated with lower protection intention; (2) the discriminating value between perceived efficacy and threat level (DV) was negatively associated with fear arousal and positively associated with fear control; (3) fear control was negatively associated with fear arousal; (4) fear arousal and fear control mediate the relationship between DV and protection behavioral intention. By integrating psychological perspectives, this study provides insights into the development of targeted interventions for climate change adaptation, emphasizing a multidimensional approach beyond traditional paradigms.