Environmental Health Risk Perception of a Nationwide Sample of Taiwan College Students Majoring in Engineering and Health Sciences

The present study aims to characterize Taiwan college students’ risk perception on 26 environmental health hazards, and to identify influential factors contributing to their perceived risk. A total of 1218 nationwide college students and 35 professors participated in the study. Despite their varying demographic background, the students on average show very similar perceived relative risks, particularly for hazards of high-rank risk. Aggregate-level data analyses show that the perceived risk of a hazard increases with its increasing dreadfulness, but decreases with its increasing unknown to the participants. On the other hand, the factors contributing to the perceived risk by an individual are more complex. The dread component is the dominant factor affecting both the students’ and professors’ perceived risk. However, unlike the students, the professors’ perceived risk is also strongly driven by considerations for the exposure characteristics, the uncontrollable nature, and the newness of a hazard. It is notable that, for certain hazards, the perception gaps between the students and professors are substantial, thus highlighting areas of interest for additional risk communication efforts.