Perception of Environmental Risk Related to Gender, Community Socioeconomic Setting, Age, and Locus of Control
Riechard, D. E. & Peterson, S. J. (1998). Perception of environmental risk related to gender, community socioeconomic setting, age, and locus of control. Journal of Environmental Education, 30, 1, 11-19.
Examined how precollege students' perception of risk for 20 environmental hazards related to gender, community socioeconomic setting (CSES), age, and locus of control. The sample consisted of 231 participants, aged 10-17 yrs, drawn from 12 schools located in a large metropolitan area of the southwestern US. Female students had significantly higher perception-of-risk scores than male students. Participants in the internal locus-of-control group posted higher perception-of-risk scores than those in either intermediate or external groups. There was a significant difference between scores of internals and intermediates. Neither age nor CSES had a significant relationship with perception of risk. Interactions among variables, effects of sex-role stereotyping, and social amplification of risk through the media are discussed.
