Introduction

Earthquakes are one of the most unpredictable and destructive natural disasters that affect people’s lives and cause much human and financial losses. ^{Reference Fung and Loke1} Therefore, it is considered a serious danger to people’s lives. ^{Reference Canoo and Morsell2} Earthquakes have been one of the most important natural disasters due to their destructive effects throughout human history. ^{Reference Ganapati and Ganapati3} The main effects of this phenomenon include the destruction of man-made buildings and structures, which causes death, severe injuries, homelessness, and other social problems. ^{Reference Hussar4} Earthquake refers to the movement of the earth that occurs in a short time due to the release of energy as a result of rapid rupture in faults in the earth’s crust. ^{Reference Chen, Feihuan, Edward and Shyr5} More than one million earthquakes occur around the world annually. ^{Reference Dirkzwager, Kerssens and Yzermans6} Based on a global scale, earthquakes and tsunamis have killed more than 400,000 people and affected 46 million over the past 20 years. ^{Reference Foltin, Schonfeld and Shannon7} Iran is located in an earthquake-prone region of the world and numerous catastrophic earthquakes have been recorded in its history. ^{Reference Mehraein, Goli and Mohajervatan8} Over the past 90 years, more than 180,000 people have died in numerous earthquakes. ^{Reference Poursaid and Khormaei9} The Bam earthquake (2003) killed more than 30,000 people, injured more than 10,000 individuals, left more than 100,000 people homeless, and led to the loss of more than $800 million. ^{Reference Kankea, Amnat, Hossaini, Sadeghi and Aghighi10}

Earthquakes, per se, do not have any adverse consequences, but what makes this phenomenon a disaster is the unpreparedness to cope with its consequences. ^{Reference Ramezani, Khamesan and Rastgomoghaddam11} As long as the safety of human beings, their society, and habitats against earthquakes are not guaranteed sufficiently, they will cause harmful and critical consequences. ^{Reference Kubicek, Ramirez, Limbos and Iverson12} The experience of developed countries confirms that the effects of this natural phenomenon can be greatly reduced with careful planning. ^{Reference Chang, Wilkinson, Brunsdon, Seville and Potangaroa13} Disaster elimination is impossible, but the risk of events and disasters can be reduced with preparedness to cope with such events. ^{Reference Hayles14} Education is another way to increase preparedness and reduce the destructive effects of earthquakes. ^{Reference Yarmohammadzadeh and Faiz Elahi15} Education can also help reduce the negative psychological effects of natural disasters. ^{Reference Vojinovic and van Teeffelen16} Students are one of the groups in society that are always exposed to earthquake-related hazards. ^{Reference Wilks17} In this regard, continuous and on-going education is essential for students to prepare themselves for earthquakes, a missing link in the earthquake crisis management cycle. ^{Reference Rasell and Shimba18} On the other hand, government in disaster management has limited resources in terms of human resources and facilities. ^{Reference Ronald, Esther, Burke and Konarski19} Hence, it is possible to prepare students to cope with earthquakes at school and at home via education and training. ^{Reference Kubicek, Ramirez and Limbos20} Thus, the most important step in managing the earthquake crisis in schools is education to enhance students’ knowledge and public awareness. ^{Reference Sayers and Riagel21}

Earthquake education refers to a set of appropriate strategies designed before the earthquake to raise awareness and teach practical skills by generalization to the whole society. ^{Reference Dorosh, Malik and Krausova22} Continuous education can eliminate the fear of the suddenness of the earthquake and its consequences among students. By maintaining preparedness during earthquakes, students’ relaxation and peace of mind to decide and implement the safety tips, which is the most important component to save individuals and the society, are maintained. ^{Reference Jeyanth and Godfrey23} In earthquake education, students are exposed to an accident situation, which allows them to learn the ways of coping with earthquakes and to use these experiences throughout their lives and during earthquakes. ^{Reference Blessman, Skupski and Jamil24} In other words, education can untie the knots created in an accident such as an earthquake and students can rely on these teachings and learnings to cope with the accident calmly and confidently to reduce casualties and psychological damages during and after events. ^{Reference Heathers and Perkins25} Taking earthquake education seriously, purposefulness, and as a continuation of this education for students and families by increasing their quality and quantity can always be an important issue in the plans made by the officials of educational centers. ^{Reference Rautela26} It can lead to more solidarity between parents and schools, eventually reducing human casualties. ^{Reference Haigh and Sutton27} In fact, being prepared and knowing what to do in the event of an earthquake can save the lives of many people during an incident. ^{Reference Koelling and Bennett28}

Various factors including preparedness, awareness, and self-efficacy affect the self-efficacy of students to respond appropriately to sudden events, especially earthquakes. One of these factors is social support, which affects individuals’ beliefs in their abilities and enhances their performance in the face of disasters. ^{Reference Lorig, Perkins and David29} Social support has been defined as the reception of affection, attention, and assistance of family members, friends, and other people. ^{Reference Daniel and Bart30} In addition, perceived support refers to a personal perception of the availability of support, an adequate assessment of support, and the quality of support when needed. ^{Reference Jennifer, Sullivan and Laura31} The mental aspect of social support can provide effective psychological assistance to a person to cope with the pressures and problems of life. ^{Reference Bornstein32} Since these people have a clear idea in their minds that there are people who help them in all moments of life, they resist the adversities more strongly. ^{Reference Halvorson and Hamilton33}

As mentioned earlier, it is crucial for students to behave properly during an earthquake. Therefore, implementing educational programs for students and their families can serve as a guide for macro-level planning. The present study aims to investigate the effects of an educational program on social support and earthquake-related awareness in high school students in Lordegan, Iran in 2021.