DISASTER VOLUNTEERISM AMONG YOUTH: APPLYING THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR TO COLLECTIVE ACTION VOLUNTEERISM

Worsening climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters are expected to have an increasing impact on environment-dependent socioeconomic systems and communities across the globe. Addressing these negative impacts requires the participation of people in the form of collective action towards pro-environmental behavior (PEB), on one hand, and a more proactive disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) system on the other. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) provide crucial insights into understanding influences towards volunteerism and PEB. Within the context of collective disaster volunteerism, a survey was conducted among 403 participants that measured influence of the constructs of TPB and SIMCA. The proposed model was examined through regression and mediation analyses. Results suggest the usefulness of combining the TPB and SIMCA in predicting intention to engage in collective disaster volunteering, accounting for 94.1% of the variance in intention. Moreover, data shows that empowering individuals by strengthening their collective efficacy beliefs appears to be the main driver of the target intention, followed by their attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and group-based emotions towards disaster volunteering. These four factors significantly mediated the influence of social identity on collective disaster volunteering intention. The findings suggest that people are inspired to participate in collective disaster volunteerism by fostering positive attitudes and beliefs towards the environment, strengthening collective efficacy beliefs, and promoting identification with groups. The results of this study could be used to inform efforts to increase collective disaster volunteerism, especially important in the face of increasing climate vulnerability. Keywords: volunteerism, DRRM, climate change, SIMCA