Australian Survey Of Social Attitudes Research Articles

Extreme weather experience and climate change risk perceptions: The roles of partisanship and climate change cause attribution

Climate change risk perceptions are crucial in influencing individuals' behavioral changes and shaping policy preferences for climate change mitigation. Experience of recent extreme weather events may enhance people's awareness of climate change and thus alter their attitudes toward climate change. This study examines the correlations between extreme weather experience and climate change risk perceptions using Australia's most recent representative national survey data (2020 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes). The results demonstrate that the positive effect of extreme weather experience on climate change risk perceptions, both to the World and to Australia, became nonsignificant when all variables were controlled. Notably, extreme weather experiences amplified the perceptions of climate change risk among individuals without party affiliations, but they did not affect those with solid party affiliations, neither with the National-Liberal Coalition nor Labor or the Greens. Furthermore, the impact of extreme weather experiences on climate change risk perceptions is not direct but primarily indirect through individuals' cause attribution of climate change. This paper provides valuable insights into the linkage mechanism between extreme weather experience and climate change risk perceptions.

A “Dark Side” of religion? Associations between religious involvement, identity and domestic violence determinants in Australia

AbstractThis study investigates associations between religious involvement and identity and attitudes related to domestic violence using nationally representative cross‐sectional data from n = 1287 Australian adults in the 2018 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA). Linear regression models were used to analyse the association between religious involvement (frequency of service attendance and prayer) and identity (religious, spiritual or both) with attitudes related to domestic violence (patriarchal beliefs, failure to acknowledge domestic violence as an issue and trust in faith leaders' responses to domestic violence). Results showed that religious service attendance, frequency of prayer and spiritual/religious identity were associated with more patriarchal beliefs about gender roles. There was no evidence that religious involvement or identity was associated with failure to acknowledge domestic violence as a national issue. In contrast, frequent (but not infrequent) religious involvement and religious identity were associated with failure to acknowledge domestic violence in participants' own faith communities. Addressing patriarchal beliefs and acknowledgement of domestic violence within faith communities among those who regularly attend services, pray and identify as religious are key targets for action to address domestic violence and improve population health.

Come together? The unusual combination of precariat materialist and educated post-materialist support for an Australian Universal Basic Income

International studies using the European Social Survey (ESS) reveal higher support for Universal Basic Income (UBI) in poorer countries with less generous welfare systems, and among individuals with lower income and education, and leftist political leanings. We present data from the 2019−20 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes mirroring the ESS question. Australia falls in the middle of European opinion, with 51% supporting a UBI, increasing slightly during the onset of Covid-19. We also find higher support among two different groups: (1) those facing greater ‘material’ precarity, including younger, low-income, unemployed, suburban renters, and (2) those who have more post-materialist concerns, including Green-left voters and those favouring redistributive values. Unlike in other countries, higher education predicts more support, while homeownership predicts less. The article concludes with challenges to introducing UBI to Australia, including potentially contradictory strategies for different support bases (material vs post-material), ongoing commitments to means-testing, and negative framing in the media.

Religion, Trust, and Vaccine Hesitancy in Australia

Religion has been identified as a potential driver of vaccine hesitancy. Nevertheless, the connections between religion and immunisation refusal can be complex, while there is a deficit of research exploring religion and vaccination doubts in Australia. With that in mind, this study considers Australian vaccine hesitancy with respect to religion and trust by analysing the 2018 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes and the Australian dataset of the 2018 Wellcome Global Monitor. Statistical analyses reveal no significant correlations between religion and vaccine hesitancy, while participants with negative vaccine attitudes identify that they do not have religious reasons for being vaccine hesitant. Nonetheless, a higher proportion of respondents with negative vaccine attitudes self-identify as religious or spiritual and maintain pro-religious views. It was also found that negative vaccine attitudes are correlated with unfavourable perceptions of both Jews and Muslims. Notably, religious self-identification divides two main groups of vaccine hesitant participants, described as Religious Conservatives and Nonreligious Progressives. These groups diverge on sexual ethics and social concerns, as well as around whether they trust in science as opposed to religion, while differing in their perceptions of Jews. What unites these vaccine hesitant participants, however, is a mutual lack of trust in government and scientists.

Wrongful Convictions and Erroneous Acquittals: Applying Packer's Model to Examine Public Perceptions of Judicial Errors in Australia.

The fallible nature of the criminal justice system continues to see judicial errors-that is, wrongful convictions and erroneous acquittals-undermine its integrity, efficacy, and legitimacy. Public perceptions of judicial errors are important contributors to criminal justice policy and reforms. The current study utilizes the 2016 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) dataset to examine public attitudes toward judicial errors. It applies Herbert Packer's crime control and due process models to understand how concerns around procedural safeguards and public safety are associated with public perceptions toward judicial errors. Packer's model has been challenged by studies, which theorize that the models are not mutually exclusive. Yet, they have not been empirically tested in this context, which is a gap this study seeks to fill. Findings show that due process and crime control concerns shape public attitudes toward wrongful convictions and challenge the notion that Packer's models be applied on a continuum.

Climate Change Knowledge and Political Identity in Australia

National data from the 2018 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes show that knowledge of climate change is positively associated with the scientific consensus position on anthropogenic climate change. Responses to factual quiz questions that include climate trigger terms such as “greenhouse gas” or reference to increased ocean temperature and acidification are influenced by one’s political party identification, with Liberal and National party identifiers tending to score lower than Labor partisans on climate knowledge scales. Yet, responses to climate-related factual questions sans trigger terms are not influenced by political partisanship. Climate skeptics tend to score lower on climate knowledge scales than those who accept anthropogenic climate change, although skeptics also tend to have inflated confidence in their factual knowledge of climate change.

Beyond millennials v baby boomers: Using kindness to assess generationalism across four age cohorts in Australia

Today’s young people (youth and young adults) are routinely understood in generational terms, constructed as narcissistic and selfish in comparison with their predecessors. Despite announcements of a weakening commitment to values of kindness and generosity, there is little empirical research that examines these trends. The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes shows that young people are more likely to be kind but are less likely to think most Australians are kind. This article investigates this tension using focus groups with Australians of different ages (corresponding to major generational groupings) and drawing on the sociology of generations. To differentiate between generation, period and age/life-cycle effects requires longitudinal methods. However, these qualitative data suggest that a ‘generationalist’ discourse of young people as narcissistic is powerful in Australia and that young people are both internalising and challenging this framing. They appear to be responding to common experiences of growing up with the social and economic uncertainties of an ‘until-further-notice’ world and express strong support for values of kindness and openness to difference.

Poles Apart: Political Divisions over Climate Change Among Younger Australians

Political polarisation over anthropogenic climate change (ACC) is an important barrier to climate action in countries such as Australia and the USA. Given the rising concerns expressed by younger people globally over the existential threat posed by global warming, are political divisions over climate change lessening among young people? Are young Australians more knowledgeable about climate change than their elders, and to what extent does knowledge influence their climate attitudes? We explore these questions with recent survey data from a cohort of young Australians (aged 26) living in Queensland and national data from the 2018 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes. We find that younger Australians are not more knowledgeable about climate change than older Australians. However, knowledge of climate change is associated with greater acceptance of ACC among younger Australians. Social and political factors are also important. Young men score higher on climate knowledge than young women, but men are less likely than women to accept that climate change has human causes. Those with vocational education score lower than others on climate knowledge and are also less likely to believe in ACC. While younger Australians are likelier to accept ACC than older Australians, political party allegiance remains the strongest influence upon the attitudes of young people, with Liberal and National Party identifiers far less likely than others to accept ACC, even after controlling for social background and climate knowledge. This research suggests that politics remains the greatest barrier to real action on climate change, even among younger Australians.

Stigmatising attitudes towards people who inject drugs, and people living with blood borne viruses or sexually transmissible infections in a representative sample of the Australian population.

Stigma has significant detrimental health outcomes for those affected. This study examined socio-demographic characteristics that were associated with stigmatising attitudes among the general population towards people who inject drugs, and people living with blood borne viruses or sexually transmissible infections. Questions were included in the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (total sample = 1,001). Attitudes towards each of the target populations were measured by 5-item stigma scales. Bivariate analyses and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify socio-demographic characteristics associated with stigmatising attitudes. Knowing a person affected by a stigmatised attribute was associated with reduced stigmatising attitudes, while voting for a conservative political party was associated with increased stigmatising attitudes. Age, gender, education, income, and marital status were each related to some stigmatising attitudes. Results also highlight differences between attitudes towards a stigmatised behaviour (i.e., injecting drug use) and stigmatised conditions (i.e., blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections). Identifying socio-demographic characteristics that are associated with stigmatising attitudes may have global implications for informing stigma reduction interventions, in order to promote positive health outcomes for affected communities.

Does Public Knowledge of Climate Change Really Matter in Australia?

ABSTRACTReplicating questions on climate change and polar knowledge from the United States, this study examines the impact of climate related facts for predicting acceptance of anthropogenic climate change, and for predicting Green voting in Australia. Analysis of national survey data from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes show that the likelihood of Green voting increases with climate knowledge. Climate-related knowledge is also positively associated with acceptance of anthropogenic climate change, but the effect of knowledge is moderated by party political identification. Greens, Labor Party identifiers and politically un-affiliated Australians align more closely with the scientific consensus on climate change as their climate knowledge increases. However, climate knowledge has no effect on the climate change attitudes of Liberal and National party identifiers. Climate knowledge also interacts with gender. Climate knowledge has a stronger association with anthropogenic climate change beliefs among women than it does among men. These findings suggest the information deficit model of science communication is likely to be efficacious among supporters of politically progressive parties in Australia, but less so among political conservatives.

AGE DISCRIMINATION IN AUSTRALIAN WORKPLACES: EXPERIENCES OF OLDER WORKERS

Australia has conducted widely publicized campaigns to improve attitudes to ageing and combat ageism, however negative attitudes and discriminatory behaviours remain evident with implications for wellbeing, age equality and social inclusion. This paper examines perceptions and experiences of age discrimination in the workplace with a particular focus on those aged 55+ years. Data are from a representative national sample of adults in the Australian Attitudes to Ageing study conducted as a component of the 2015–2017 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (n=2174). Participants responded to questions about their knowledge and experience of discrimination. Results show 23% of employed respondents experienced workplace-based discrimination, however the proportions varied by age group. Other factors with a statistically significant association with discrimination were self-assessed health status, marital status, location, and education level. The findings are discussed within public policy frameworks intended to maintain workforce participation and increase self-funded retirement as responses to population ageing.

High and growing disapproval of sex-selection technology in Australia

BackgroundIn Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council has banned the use of assisted reproductive technology for social sex selection, but notes “there is limited research into the question of whether Australians support the use of sex selection for non-medical purposes”. This paper investigates Australian attitudes to sex-selection technology by different means (IVF, abortion, and a hypothetical pill), for different reasons (medical, family balancing, any reason), and by differing respondent characteristics (age, sex, education and religiosity).MethodsIn 2007 and 2016, the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) collected data on the attitudes of Australian adults to sex selection through IVF, abortion, and a hypothetical pill. We calculate population-weighted distributions and 95% confidence intervals of responses, and carry out logistic regressions to investigate the demographic characteristics of Australians who strongly disapprove of IVF or abortion for sex selection.ResultsIn 2016, around three-quarters of AuSSA respondents were opposed to legalising sex selection through IVF for any reason, or for family balancing for a second or third child. Thirty-seven per cent were opposed to IVF for medical sex selection. Two-thirds of respondents in both 2007 and 2016 disapproved or strongly disapproved of IVF for sex selection, while the proportion who strongly disapproved increased from 31 to 40%. Disapproval/strong disapproval of abortion for sex selection increased from 74 to 81% from 2007 to 2016, while strong disapproval alone rose from 44 to 55%. More than 70% of respondents in both 2007 and 2016 stated that a hypothetical pill for sex selection should not be legal. Our analysis finds that female, young, more-educated, and more religious respondents are more likely to strongly disapprove of sex selection via IVF or abortion, and that the increase in those who strongly disapprove from 2007 to 2016 is statistically significant.ConclusionsAustralians generally disapprove of the use of sex-selection technology. If legislation is to be guided by community attitudes, then the prohibition against sex selection for non-medical purposes through assisted reproductive technology should be maintained.

'Millennials': Perceived generational opportunities and intergenerational conflict in Australia.

To investigate the perceptions of intergenerational conflict and lifelong opportunities of the Millennial cohort. Data were collected in the Attitudes to Ageing in Australia Study as part of the 2015-2017 national Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (n = 2049, aged 18 and older). Variations by age cohorts and individual characteristics were examined in descriptive analyses and binary logistic regressions. Overall, the majority of people at all ages thought opportunities were worse for younger people than for baby boomers, but few perceived strong conflict between younger and older people. Millennials were the most likely to perceive strong conflict. People rendered 'disadvantaged' by their socio-economic positions were more likely to perceive better opportunities for younger people and strong intergenerational conflict. Policymakers should address the barriers that Millennials and other socio-economically disadvantaged people face to improve their lifelong opportunities and address increasing social inequalities in Australia.

Job attitudes between unionized and non-unionized employees

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study job attitudes between unionized and non-unionized employees in Australia as recent research on attitudes among unionized employees has centred on topics such as attitudes towards unionization and involvement, but not on work-related attitudes.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a data set of over 5,000 responses from the Australia at Work survey. Ten attitudinal survey questions adapted from the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey and the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes were used to compare work-related attitudinal differences between unionized and non-unionized employees.FindingsFindings show that unionized employees perceive less manager–employee consultation, health and safety, dispensability, time flexibility, workload flexibility, managerial trust, fair treatment and pay equity.Originality/valueNot much is known about the attitudinal differences between unionized and non-unionized employees, given the paucity of research on unionist job attitudes. Recent research in this area has centred on employee attitudes towards unionization and involvement as opposed to studying work-related attitudes. The findings can help the management predict behavioural responses between unionized and non-unionized employees for improved decision making.

Generalising men’s affective experiences

ABSTRACTExisting approaches to understanding gendered emotions have inadequately identified the complexity of masculine affective experience on a macro-social (population) level. The division of social science into quantitative surveys of singular emotions (e.g. happiness) at the macro-social level, or qualitative examinations of multiplex feelings (i.e. multiple emotional/affective sensations experienced simultaneously) at the micro (local) level leaves existing studies unable to generalise and challenge stereotypes about the gendered affective experiences of the population. This paper uses national data from the 2015–2016 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes to show that men’s reported affective experience is characterised by a multiplex of conflicting primary and secondary emotions at the macro-level. Men’s primary surface emotions seem conventional, in that they are relatively more likely to report ‘work’-oriented emotions like enthusiasm, confidence, pride, and assertiveness. However, men are also more likely to report ‘care’-oriented emotions like care and sympathy, stress, loneliness, and anxiety as secondary emotions. Men who report primary feelings of tiredness and frustration are also more likely to report secondary feelings of love. These findings suggest that, at the macro-social level, men experience a multiplex of emotions consistent with being affectively engaged in family as much as working life, and challenge many stereotypes about men’s affective experience.

PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF WORKPLACE-BASED AGE DISCRIMINATION IN AUSTRALIA

The Australian Human Rights Commission in 2011 appointed an Age Discrimination Commissioner who has conducted widely publicized campaigns to improve attitudes to ageing and combat ageism. This paper examines perceptions and experiences of age discrimination in the workplace among Australians aged 18+ years, with a focus on those aged 55+ years. Data are from a representative national sample of adults in the Australian Attitudes to Ageing (AAA) study conducted as a component of the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) in 2015–16 (n=1211). Results show that overall 46% of people perceived age discrimination to be common in Australia. Participants believed that compared to younger workers, older workers (55+ years) were more likely to be made redundant (82%), less likely to be promoted (72%), and more likely to have difficulty adapting to change (59%). The majority disagreed that they were less productive than younger workers (74%). In regards to experiencing age discrimination, younger people (18–24 years), were more likely to report age as a factor in being turned down for a position (23%), being treated with disrespect (53%) and being ignored (41%). Significant differences were found in terms of age and gender, for example, more women reported they had been ignored (31%) and treated with disrespect (30%). The findings are interpreted in the context of Government policies, demonstration projects, and other interventions intended to maintain workforce participation and increase self-funded retirement as responses to population ageing.

Age discrimination in the workplace: The more things change ….

Age discrimination in the workplace: The more things change ….

Perceptions of health‐care professionals’ treatment of older people

This study is based on findings from the Attitudes to Ageing in Australia (AAA) component of Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA). The AAA Study is funded by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR)

A bigger Australia: opinions for and against

Final-release data from 2009-2010 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes are now available. These allow the analysis of attitudes to population growth across a wider range of background variables than in the pre-release data reported in the previous issue of People and Place. University graduates and migrants from non-English-speaking-backgrounds, especially if they are from high-income households, are the most likely to favour growth. In contrast, Australia-born non-graduates and people living in non-metropolitan areas are the least likely to do so. Voters who support the conservative parties are the most in favour of population stability but, even so, over two-thirds of Labor and Greens voters want stability. Many voters who are alienated from politics also support stability. Together these findings suggest opportunities for pro-stability parties and candidates in the forthcoming federal election.

War memory, national attachment and generational identity in Australia

In this article we use a module from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes 2007 to analyse how particular events in history resonate with Australians. We emphasize three significant findings: (1) evidence of a strong level of attachment to the world wars and an equivalent significance given to the terrorist events of 9/11 and the 2002 Bali bombings, with far less importance given to other event types; (2) a surprisingly weak correlation between the experience of events in adolescence and the assigning of historical significance; (3) indication that both closeness to the nation and a strong sense of worldliness is important in explaining attachment to the past. Overall the data challenge recent theories of postmodern memory and a range of survey results that supports Mannheim’s cohort theory. Instead, we point to the resilience of historical events to remain culturally significant, particularly through the emergence of a cosmopolitan collective memory.