Green Economy versus Dark Health: Risk Tolerance Boosts Adaptation to Soot-Contaminated Environment

Abstract

There are growing mental health concerns over soot contamination of Niger-delta communities as a result of oil exploration activities. Our study sought to understand soot risk tolerance (SRT) as a pathway through which the association between exposure to soot (ES) and perceived soot risk concerns (SRC) could be explained among residents of oil-producing communities in the Coastal region of Nigeria. Data were obtained through a survey research design with the aid of self-report measures of ES, SRC, and SRT. PROCESS macro moderation results revealed that the positive association between ES and SRC (B = 1.22, t = 2.07, p = .027) was weakened by SRT (negative moderated) (B = -2.38, t = -4.16, p = 000) such that the association was weak for residents with high SRT scores, and strong for residents with low SRT sores. The key finding implies that risk tolerance is crucial to survival in oil-producing communities with physical soot pollution. We recommend that risk tolerance should be included in measures designed to boost individual’s capacity to adapt and function in a soot-contaminated environment.