Abstract
Recently, trust has been in vogue in the social sciences. However, in risk studies, there have been few causal models of trust. This study proposes and tests a causal model of trust in which (1) source credibility influences trust and (2) two kinds of trust—i.e., trust in government and trust in regulation—affect the perceived risk and acceptance of nuclear energy. Based on survey data with a sample of 1014 local residents living near a nuclear power station, we tested a causal model using structural equation modeling. As for the results of the analysis: first, we confirmed the validity of the proposed causal model of trust. Second, on the causal path, credibility directly influenced trust in government and trust in regulation and indirectly affected the perceived risk and acceptance of nuclear power. Third, the two kinds of trust had (in)direct impacts on perceived risk and acceptance. Trust in regulation had more power to explain perceived risks and acceptance than trust in government. Trust is important, but the kind of trust is more important.
Highlights
Following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, there was an increase in the perceived risk of nuclear power
This study proposes and tests a causal model of trust that covers different types of trust and its antecedents and impacts on perceived risk and acceptance of nuclear energy
Trust studies have tried to specify the various kinds of trust and their impact; but why is it necessary to distinguish the various kinds of trust? Previous findings showed that different types of trust have different impacts
Summary
Following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, there was an increase in the perceived risk of nuclear power. In terms of stability, the perceived benefits/risks and trust influenced the acceptance of nuclear power before and after Fukushima. Siegrist et al [5] analyzed why some people changed their attitude toward nuclear power after the accident in Fukushima They pointed out that a change in benefit perception after the accident strongly influenced the acceptance of nuclear power. They reported that people perceived somewhat more risks related to nuclear power after the accident. This study proposes and tests a causal model of trust that covers different types of trust and its antecedents and impacts on perceived risk and acceptance of nuclear energy. The importance of trust can be confirmed through verification of this causal model, which specifies the effect of different types of trust and their relationship with the antecedents and outcomes
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