Development and Validation of a Scale Based on Protection Motivation Theory to Investigate Factors Affecting Earthquake Preparedness Behaviors

Given Türkiye’s high seismic risk, earthquake preparedness is vital. This study explored factors affecting earthquake preparedness behaviors among residents in high-risk areas. The factors affecting earthquake preparedness behaviors Scale based on protection motivation theory was developed, and its validity was tested. Scale development consists of a pilot and main application process. The pilot application was carried out with 50 participants, and the main application was carried out with 804 participants. The sample consisted of 804 participants who were divided into two groups for exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The sample was selected from 11 neighborhoods using the cluster sampling method. IBM SPSS 25 was used for exploratory factor analysis, while AMOS 24.0 was employed for confirmatory factor analysis. The final version of the scale consists of 24 items across four dimensions, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.883, exceeding the acceptable threshold of 0.7 for each dimension. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin value is 0.898, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity is significant, with the total variance explained being 51%. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicate a good fit for both the measurement and structural models (χ2/df = 1.779; RMSEA = 0.44; CFI = 0.96; NFI = 0.91; TLI = 0.95; p<0.001). Structural equation modeling showed that, among the constructs of protection motivation theory, perceived efficacy (β = 0.690) is the most important factor affecting earthquake preparedness behaviors. The results show that the scale is a valid and reliable tool to determine the factors affecting earthquake preparedness behaviors in Turkish society.