Thanks for all the comments and the link to the Nat Geo doco which is really interesting. I didn't get the impression the family were being made out to be crazy but I've only watched the first episode. It's a hard one because until it actually does happen, people talking about it may well be called crazy by those who have never even thought about an end of the world scenario. What I do really like about exploring the culture of prepping is the sustainability angle and the need to become self sufficient. I like the idea of people coming together to share this approach like in the transition town movement. If more people take this approach there may be less chance of an end of the world type scenario anyway perhaps. I also like the idea of prepping because it makes good financial sense and also because it gets you through the periods that are tricky, like when it snows for days and you can't leave the house. I guess there are alot of reasons why people prep which is why I'm so interested in exploring it. Whatever the reasons, it makes sense to me.
I think you'll understand then when probably most of us will keep our preps to ourselves! We are all preparing for different things (unemployment and rising prices seems to the most common one at the mo) and don't want the average joe on the streets to know what we do. We may be planning to prep for our family too. That's our motive - our family!
So sorry if no one wants to help with your research