Abstract
Humans face various hazards, making it challenging to apply a precautionary approach to all of them. Instead, individuals prioritize risk reduction based on perceived threats and lived experiences, often considering multiple hazards simultaneously. This study explores how public perceptions of multiple hazards are interconnected and change over time in Italy and Sweden, using data from three representative surveys (n = 12,476) conducted in August 2020, November 2020, and August 2021. We assess risk perception across three dimensions (likelihood, impact, and authority knowledge) for nine hazards, including epidemics, climate change, and natural disasters. Findings reveal that recently encountered hazards, such as COVID-19, become more closely connected to other hazards. At the same time, connections among hazards such as wildfires, droughts, and floods remain stable over time. These results indicate a dual component of public risk perception of multiple hazards, offering valuable insights for shaping public health policies and climate adaptation strategies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 100424 |
| Journal | Cell Reports Sustainability |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 25 Jul 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 25 Jul 2025 |
Data Availability Statement
The survey data used in this article are available open access on Zenodo, together with the survey form in English, Swedish, and Italian and a metadata file: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5653322. The script to read, process, and visualize survey data is freely available at: https://github.com/paniblanca/NetworkAnalysis_RiskPercep.Funding
This research was funded by Formas the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (grant no. 2023-01774) and the Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science interdisciplinary grant (2021). Data collection was supported by the European Research Council (ERC), consolidator grant no. 77167. O.A.T. was supported by core funding from the British Heart Foundation (RG/18/13/33946); Cambridge BHF Centre of Research Excellence (RE/18/1/34212); BHF chair award (CH/12/2/29428); NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014 and NIHR203312); and by Health Data Research UK, which is funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Department of Health and Social Care (England), Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), British Heart Foundation, and Wellcome. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. J.K. and M. Munafò work in the Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, which is supported by the Medical Research Council and the University of Bristol (grant code: MC_UU_00011/7). E.R.’s work is supported by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE grant nos. 2022-00882 and 2024-00833); the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas grant nos. 2023-01774 and 2022-01845); and the Swedish Research Council (VR, grant nos. 2023-01982 and 2022-06599).
Keywords
- climate change
- COVID-19 pandemic
- economic crises
- epidemics
- Italy
- multiple hazards
- network analysis
- public risk perception
- Sweden
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
- Ecology
- Water Science and Technology
