Nur Syam, Alfyananda Kurnia Putra, Nurhayati Selvi, Sumarmi Sumarmi, Listyo Yudha Irawan, Yesi Yuniar, Syamsunardi Syamsunardi
Disaster studies often paradoxically frame children as passive victims, overlooking their agency in the context of risk. This study introduces the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self-Measure for Flood Disaster (PRISM-FD) to map children’s “psychogeographies of risk” in two contrasting Indonesian floodplains. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. The quantitative phase (N = 314 primary students) assessed risk perception and preparedness in urban (Makassar) and rural (Malang) areas using questionnaires, followed by a qualitative phase using PRISM-FD. Findings revealed “preparedness paradoxes”. Children showed high conceptual knowledge alongside alarming misperceptions. Critically, a gap emerged between household emergency supply possession and children’s access-knowledge, creating an “illusion of preparedness”. School education, while motivating proactive intent, failed pedagogically and did not translate into practical skills. PRISM-FD is effective in visualizing children’s agency, functioning as a novel methodological tool for measuring subjective well-being indicators in high-risk contexts. This study challenges the simplistic “vulnerable victim” narrative, demonstrating that children are motivated actors whose agency is constrained by adult-centric systems. A paradigm shift toward participatory, child-centered DRR is urgently needed to leverage children’s inherent potential as agents of resilience. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2026.
Primary School Teacher Education Study Program, Universitas Islam Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia; Department of Geography, State University of Malang, Malang, Indonesia; Department of Geography, State University of Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
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