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Gender, Race, and Perception of Environmental Health Risks
Article first published online: 29 MAY 2006
DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1994.tb00082.x
1539-6924/asset/cover.gif?v=1&s=c68b500edb8ed737f9814e4dd3e5ee23eb9c0f0b "Risk Analysis")
Additional Information
How to Cite
Flynn, J., Slovic, P. and Mertz, C. K. (1994), Gender, Race, and Perception of Environmental Health Risks. Risk Analysis, 14: 1101–1108. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1994.tb00082.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 29 MAY 2006
- Article first published online: 29 MAY 2006
- Received March 22, 1994; revised June 24, 1994
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- Gender;
- race;
- risk perception;
- environmental equity
This paper reports the results of a national survey in which perceptions of environmental health risks were measured for 1275 white and 214 nonwhite persons. The results showed that white women perceived risks to be much higher than did white men, a result that is consistent with previous studies. However, this gender difference was not true of nonwhite women and men, whose perceptions of risk were quite similar. Most striking was the finding that white males tended to differ from everyone else in their attitudes and perceptions–on average, they perceived risks as much smaller and much more acceptable than did other people. These results suggest that sociopolitical factors such as power, status, alienation, and trust are strong determiners of people's perception and acceptance of risks.