Gender, Ethnicity and Environmental Risk Perception Revisited: The Importance of Residential Location

Abstract

Objectives Studies in the U.S. have found that white men are less concerned about pollution than are women or people of other ethnicity. These studies have not assessed respondents’ proximity to localized sources of pollution. Our objective was to assess lay perceptions of risk from air pollution in an ethnically diverse sample in which proximity to a major perceptible source of pollution is known. Methods Cross sectional interview study of combined area probability and convenience sample of individuals 40 and older in the Boston area, selected according to proximity to high traffic controlled access highways. Results Of 697 respondents 46% were white, 37% Asian (mostly Chinese), 6.3% African-American, 6.3% Latino, and 7.6% other ethnicity. While white respondents, and particularly white men, were less concerned about air pollution than others, this effect disappeared when controlling for distance from the highway. White men were slightly less supportive than others of government policy to control pollution Conclusions The “white male” effect may in part be accounted for by the greater likelihood of minority respondents to live near perceptible localized sources of pollution.

Racial Differences in Perceptions of Air Pollution Health Risk: Does Environmental Exposure Matter?

“…A number of prior studies suggest that racial/ethnic minorities demonstrate higher levels of environmental concern than Whites, especially when such concerns are framed in terms of environmental health risk [8,9,10,11,12]. Even when framed in more general terms, African Americans have been found to have at least as much, if not more, concern for the environment than Whites [13,14,15].…”

Meat Consumption and Availability for Its Reduction by Health and Environmental Concerns: A Pilot Study

“…A study that was conducted out on 713 German adults with diverse patterns of meat consumption, published by Verain and Dagevos (2022) [ 24 ], reveals that males have more resistance to reducing their meat intake, possibly due to a lack of awareness, a lack of interest, or cultural reasons. According to the findings of other studies [ 23 , 28 ], females are more aware of the effects of human activity on the environment, whereas males are less worried about environmental issues. Carvalho and Li (2009) [ 29 ] conducted a research study on the lack of desire by males to reduce their intake of meat.…”

The perception of air pollution and its health risk: a scoping review of measures and methods

“…Five studies focused on adolescents and children [ 44 , 66 , 67 , 79 , 88 ]. Seventy-seven studies included both men and women, two studies included only men [ 64 , 74 ], one study included only women [ 71 ], and 15 studies did not report the proportion of men/women [ 27 , 32 , 45 , 46 , 50 , 51 , 59 , 65 , 70 , 78 , 79 , 83 , 86 , 105 , 110 ].…”