122 / 2022-01-10 19:47:24

How to measure the safety cognition capability of urban residents? An assessment framework based on cognitive progression theory

Urban residents, Safety cognition capability, Conceptual structure, Scale development, Qualitative analysis

Public Security and Emergency Management > 1. Urban Security and Public Governance

Abstract

The salience of social risks and the incidence of various crises in China have induced widespread

concerns among urban residents. Encountering frequent risks places higher demands on the cognition

of urban residents. The concept of safety cognition capability is defined within the context of urban

residents' daily life, and measurement instruments are developed and tested to lay the foundation for

grasping the current safety cognition capability of urban residents and conducting further research. In

this paper, the five-dimensional structure of urban residents' safety cognition capability (URSCC)

was proposed by using the grounded theory method to sort out the interview transcript of interviews

with 30 urban residents, and a total of 38-item URSCC scales in four domains - public health, natural

disasters, accidents, and social security - were designed and used for surveys conducted in China.

The results show that the scale can be used as a valid tool to measure the URSCC, and it can help

city managers to better understand the safety needs of residents, as well as monitor the effectiveness

of policy implementation.