The dark side of close-ties communities: How strong social connections shape health-related risk perceptions.

Abstract

This study explores public risk attitudes of environmental hazards with a focus on threats such as air, water and soil pollution or toxicants spillage. We emphasize the social dimension of risk and analyze how strong networks of social connections affect community members' sensitivity to the health risks from pollution-type hazards. We develop a model that integrates the social dimension using aspects like social capital with a set of individual-level factors like people's awareness of environmental issues, knowledge of threats, and experience of health problems. We test our models with US national survey data (N=1207) focusing on health hazards and integrate location-based measures of social capital. Our findings highlight the detrimental (albeit relatively small) effect of strong social networks as residents of communities with high social capital downplay the health threats from hazards and report decreased risk attitudes. We also find important role for individual-level factors led by awareness and knowledge of the threats. Our findings offer unique perspective on risk attitudes by demonstrating the potential harmful effects of strong social ties on community members' sensitivity to health risks from pollution-type hazards. In addition, we offer evidence on factors that shape risk perceptions in the face of less common environmental hazards.