Analysis of the effect of social norms on the resilience of rural households against floods with the mediating role of self-efficacy

The resilience of rural households plays a key role in reducing the consequences of crises and increasing the ability to adapt to environmental changes. However, most previous research has focused on examining the dimensions of vulnerability of these households and has paid less attention to identifying the factors affecting resilience. While analyzing these factors can pave the way for targeted policies to strengthen the sustainability and empowerment of rural communities. In this regard, this study was conducted with the general aim of examining the effect of social norms on the resilience of rural households in dealing with floods with the mediating role of self-efficacy. The population studied in this study included households living in rural areas of Shushtar County, located in Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran; a region with a diverse social structure and a history of experiencing natural hazards, which provides a suitable platform for analyzing preventive behaviors and collective responses in the face of floods. The results showed that the research variables, namely social norms and self-efficacy, are able to explain 60.4% of the variance in the resilience of rural households to cope with floods. In addition, the results showed that the social norms variable was the strongest influential variable in this field. In general, the results of this research can provide new insights for policymakers in this field in order to increase the resilience of local communities in the context of hazards.