Keywords

Risk perception, environmental justice, Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

This paper identifies social conditions that shape perceptions of risk to environmental toxins among residents in the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. Demographic information from a randomly selected sample of 2,548 residents was used to explore the concept of the "White male effect" as discussed in previous literature, which has found that white males are particularly risk accepting compared to all other race and gender groups. This analysis also evaluated the influence of trust in government and beliefs about environmental justice on perceived exposure and compared responses from residents within and outside the City of New Orleans to determine whether there is evidence of location-specific differences. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed strong support for the combined race and gender effects proposed by previous literature. Additionally, hypotheses regarding the influence of trust in government and belief in environmental injustice were supported. Suggestions for future research and policy implications are discussed.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2009

Advisor

Canan, Penelope

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Applied Sociology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002712

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002712

Language

English

Release Date

September 2009

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Sociology Commons

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