Identifying the Social factors of drought and uncovering its effects

Drought, as a natural disaster, is a problem having been repeatedly encountered in the vast array of countries, in the past, having always left damages in various areas. The purpose of this study was to identify social factors caused by water scarcity and its effects in the studied region. The statistical population of the study consisted of 34786 households in the region. To determine the sample size, the Cochran formula was used, and according to the results, 461 samples were selected through random sampling, in 54 villages in the region. The data collection questionnaire was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by experts. To determine the reliability of the research instrument, a pre-test was performed and the Cronbach's alpha was calculated equal to 0.813, then the collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results of T-test confirmed the effects of agricultural water resources shortage, on social variables. Analysis of variance ANOVA also indicates a significant difference between villes, in terms of the social impacts of drought. Factor analysis has identified five factors (social ties, social associations, disturbance in relationships, calamity and eagerness) caused by droughts, and Friedman's test further illustrates the differences between these five factors.