Disparate perceived resilience of rural households at different altitude belts: An empirical study from the Wenchuan earthquake-stricken area, China

The perceived resilience of rural households has attracted considerable attention among both practitioners and researchers. However, a research gap still exists regarding its quantitative evaluation, place-based characteristics, and impact mechanisms in areas threatened by multiple hazards. Based on data from 399 household questionnaire in typical villages of Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, a conceptual indicator framework of perceived resilience was established. Factor analysis was used to quantitatively evaluate the perceived resilience of rural households at different altitude gradient areas. A multiple linear regression model was used to describe the determinants of perceived resilience among different groups of households with disparate disaster experiences. The results show that: (1) A four-dimensional framework encompassing pre-disaster preventive capability, disaster coping capacity, post-disaster adaptive capacity, and learning and transition capability was identified by factor analysis for the quantitative measurement of the perceived resilience of rural households. (2) Their perceived resilience decreases with increasing altitude; the average perceived resilience score of households in the valley area is 1.5 times higher than that in the high mountains area. (3) Rural households with more experience of natural disasters exhibited higher levels of perceived resilience; however, this trend was reversed in the high mountains area. (4) The perceived resilience of households was significantly affected by most of the examined disaster preparedness indicators and a few of the examined personal characteristics indicators. For improving perceived resilience of rural households living in the study area, it is recommended to establish psychological crisis intervention networks in the valley area, promote more diversified livelihood strategies in the mid-mountains area, and mitigate the impacts of meteorological disasters in the high mountains area, respectively.