Stability and predictors of risk perception of mobile phone base stations - Additional analysis of the QUEBEB-Study - 3608S08001
urn:nbn:de:0221-2009082137 BfS-RESFOR-16/09
Summary
The aim of the present study was to assess the stability and the predictors of the risk perception of mobile phone base stations.
Analysis was based on a data set of 3,253 persons in the age of 14 to 69 years who filled in two self-administered questionnaires in 2004 and in 2006, respectively. Participants estimated their concern about mobile phone base stations, they said whether they attributed their health complaints to the base stations, and they stated their concerns about 12 other environmental and health risks. Moreover, data about anxiety, depression, stress, health related quality of life, use of mobile phones, and visibility of mobile phone base stations were assessed.
In 2006, 19.9 % of the participants were rather or strongly concerned about mobile phone base stations. This was more than the proportion of those concerned about other sources of electromagnetic fields (EMF) but less than the proportion of those concerned about doubtless risks like smoking or air pollution. Concerns about mobile phone base stations were not a stable cognition in many participants: Only 60.0 % of those who were concerned about mobile phone masts in 2004 expressed that concern two years later. Only 31.7 % of those who had attributed their health complaints to mobile phone masts in 2004 did so again in 2006. For each of the psychological variables, i.e. anxiety, depression, stress and health related quality of life, it turned out that persons with more psychological strain were more often concerned about mobile phone base stations and attributed health complaints to base stations more often. Risk perception about mobile phone base stations is rather instable, and it strongly depends on personality characteristics like general concern, anxiety and depression. The conclusion might be drawn, that concern can be explained by personal characteristics and are not a result of a specific debate about mobile phone base stations. Therefore it seemed to be difficult to change these concerns by given detailed information about the not existing risk.
