Determinants of Public Involvement Among Residents Living Near the Savannah River Site. S. Brown and B. Williams, CRESP, Environment, Behavior, and Risk Research, Tucson, AZ
The Savannah River Stakeholder Study involved a cross-sectional analysis of variables related to environmental risk perception, public involvement, and policy in a fourteen county region surrounding the Department of Energy, Savannah River Site (SRS) in Georgia and South Carolina. Random samples of 1,671 respondents were interviewed by phone using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system. The RCPI (a=.89 ) was used as the instrumentation for the study (Williams, Brown, and Greenberg, 1997). As part of the study, the extent and determinants of public involvement among the sample were analyzed. Predictor variables included selected demographic variables, resident personality traits, economic dependence on SRS, county of residence, county population, levels of trust and control, and perceived neighborhood stressors and amenities. Criterion variables included participation in any form of activity and participation in specific activities. Preliminary analysis indicates that 30% of the respondents are not involved in any community activity. Of those who do participate, more than 50% volunteer in civic or church functions, and between 20 and 30% have signed petitions, and attended public meetings. Results in preliminary logistic regression models indicate that those earning less than $15,000 per year are 50% less likely to be publicly involved, while those who are educated or perceive neighborhood stressors are 25% more likely to participate (p. < .05).
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