Modeling reconstruction-related behavior and evaluation of influences of major information sources.

Abstract

Reconstruction has progressed steadily since the 2011 TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. However, some people still hesitate to eat foods from Fukushima or to travel there, and there are concerns about the health risks of radiation. We investigated the relationships among reconstruction-related behavior, risk perception, types of information, and information sources, in order to consider appropriate measures for providing information and promoting reconstruction-related behavior a number of years after the accident. We conducted an online questionnaire survey (n = 1000) of Tokyo residents. First, a factor analysis was conducted on knowledge associated with radiation. Two factors were extracted; namely, “physical knowledge” and “health/social knowledge.” We conducted structural equation modeling to construct a model of “knowledge,” “radiation risk perception,” and “intention concerning reconstruction-related behavior.” “Intention concerning reconstruction-related behavior” decreased with “radiation risk perception” and increased with “health/social knowledge.” In addition, “health/social knowledge” negatively affected “radiation risk perception;” this effect was not large, but it was significant. Second, respondents were clarified by information sources using a cluster analysis. Clusters that included respondents who got information from public relations materials issued by municipalities and websites of administrative agencies had a higher factor score for “health/social knowledge” than other clusters. The cluster of respondents who did not get any particular knowledge had the lowest factor score, which was significant, and also had a low “perception of reconstruction.”