Influence of Risk Perception on Attitudes and Norms Regarding Electronic Cigarettes.

The use of electronic cigarettes has grown substantially over the last few years. Currently, about 4% of adults use electronic cigarettes, about 16% of high school students report use in the past 30 days, as do approximately 11-25% of college students. A hallmark of the reduction in tobacco use has been the shift in social norms concerning smoking in public.

A Comparison of Students and Non-Students with Respect to Orientation Toward E-cigarettes.

We examine differences between college students and non-students with respect to orientation toward e-cigarettes. Participants were U.S.

A Cognitive-Affective Scale for Hurricane Risk Perception.

The aim of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measure of hurricane risk perception. The utility of such a measure lies in the need to understand how people make decisions when facing an evacuation order. This study included participants located within a 15-mile buffer of the Gulf and southeast Atlantic U.

Perceptual influences on self-protective behavior for West Nile virus, a survey in Colorado, USA.

Background: The endemic state of West Nile virus (WNv) in North America underscores the need to examine mechanisms influencing human self-protective behavior. Based on previous findings and theory, this study is designed to achieve two specific aims. First, the study will examine self-protective behavior for WNv through a hybridized treatment of the Health Belief Model that includes cognitive, affective, ecological, and proximity risk perception measures.

The effect of electronic cigarette advertising on intended use among college students.

Introduction: . Aside from prohibiting health claims, there are presently no restrictions on electronic cigarette advertising in the U.S.

Orientation of US Young Adults toward E-cigarettes and their Use in Public.

Objectives: We examined use of e-cigarettes and views toward their use in public.

Methods: An online survey of US adults aged 18-24 (N = 874) was used. Measures included tobacco/e-cigarette use, acceptability of public cigarette/e-cigarette use, intention to use e-cigarettes, attitudes and norms.

Perceived Characteristics of E-cigarettes as an Innovation by Young Adults.

Objectives: We examined channels through which information about e-cigarettes has flowed, public perception of e-cigarettes as an innovation, and how these may influence use.

Methods: An online survey of US adults aged 18-24 years (N = 874) was used. Measures included information channels, perception of e-cigarettes as an innovation, and intention to use.

Use and perception of electronic cigarettes among college students.

Objective: This study provides insight into how electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may affect the social normative environment for tobacco use among college students.

Participants: Participants were 244 freshman and sophomore students.

Methods: Students completed an online self-report survey in April 2011.

Individual- and community-level effects on risk perception in cancer cluster investigations.

This article focuses on the relative influence of individual versus community effects on risk perception. The study is grounded in literature examining how individuals manage information and make risk judgments in the context of suspected environmental cancer threats. We focus on three individual-level perspectives: the psychometric model of risk perception, an adaptation of the heuristic-systematic information processing model, and cancer anxiety.

Public meetings about suspected cancer clusters: the impact of voice, interactional justice, and risk perception on attendees' attitudes in six communities.

Holding a public meeting is a frequent method of communicating with community residents during official investigations into possible cancer clusters; however, there has been little formal research into the effectiveness of this method of health communication. This article presents research examining the influence of public meetings held during ongoing cancer cluster investigations in six U.S.

Cancer anxiety and the perception of risk in alarmed communities.

Cancer is a significant public health topic and is frequently a factor in public reactions to environmental hazards. It may be reasonable to suggest that a unique form of health anxiety exists - one specific to cancer. In this article, we explore a measure of cancer anxiety that has applicability to risk perception in the specific context of communities that are alarmed over suspect cancer rates thought to be associated with environmental hazards.

Radon awareness and mitigation in Vermont: a public health survey.

Radon exposure is associated with an increased incidence of lung cancer, and elevated levels may be found in as many as 1 out of 15 homes. The U.S.

Mass-mediated information effects on testicular self-examination among college students.

The author assessed the effects of a youth-targeted national cable broadcast that promoted testicular self-examination (TSE). A telephone survey of 524 college men included variables from the theory of reasoned action, as well as measures of self-exam compliance, message exposure, knowledge, attention, and the effects of humor and fear. Exposure to the show, with attitudes and norms controlled for, demonstrated a statistically significant but very weak effect on viewers' behavioral intentions.

The function of credibility in information processing for risk perception.

This study examines how credibility affects the way people process information and how they subsequently perceive risk. Three conceptual areas are brought together in this analysis: the psychometric model of risk perception, Eagly and Chaiken's heuristic-systematic information processing model, and Meyer's credibility index. Data come from a study of risk communication in the circumstance of state health department investigations of suspected cancer clusters (five cases, N = 696).