National Crisis and Emergency Management Research Institute, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea.
Department of Consumer Studies, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Feb 13;17(4):1207. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17041207.
After the 2011 "Oxy accident" involving deaths from humidifier disinfectants, Korean consumers' anxiety about chemical products has risen. To provide timely, appropriate information to consumers, we must understand their risk recognition and explore methods of safety information provision. We investigated Korean consumers' level of risk perception for chemical products depending on the provision of safety information and other factors. We conducted an online survey for 10 days with 600 adult Korean consumer participants and analyzed seven factors: catastrophic potential, controllability, familiarity, fear, scientific knowledge, and risk for future generations. Our results showed that married women over 30 perceived chemical products as higher risk, but when information was provided on how to use products safely, catastrophic potential, controllability, fear, scientific knowledge, as well as risk perception, increased significantly. When only risk diagnosis information was provided, catastrophic potential, fear, and risk for future generations remained static, but familiarity had a negative effect (R^2 = 0.586). Age and scientific knowledge affected the recognition of risk when safe risk management methods were provided (R^2 = 0.587). Risk controllability did not have any effect on risk perception. These results suggest that providing information about avoiding or dealing with risks has a positive effect on consumers' risk perception.
2011 年“加湿器杀菌剂事件”导致人员死亡后，韩国消费者对化学产品的焦虑情绪有所上升。为了向消费者提供及时、适当的信息，我们必须了解他们对风险的认知，并探索安全信息提供方法。我们根据安全信息的提供情况和其他因素，调查了韩国消费者对化学产品的风险感知程度。我们对 600 名成年韩国消费者进行了为期 10 天的在线调查，分析了七个因素：灾难性潜力、可控性、熟悉度、恐惧、科学知识以及对后代的风险。研究结果表明，已婚 30 岁以上的女性认为化学产品风险更高，但当提供有关如何安全使用产品的信息时，灾难性潜力、可控性、恐惧、科学知识以及风险感知都会显著增加。当仅提供风险诊断信息时，灾难性潜力、恐惧和对后代的风险保持不变，但熟悉度会产生负面影响（R^2 = 0.586）。提供安全风险管理方法时，年龄和科学知识会影响风险识别（R^2 = 0.587）。风险可控性对风险感知没有影响。这些结果表明，提供有关避免或处理风险的信息对消费者的风险感知有积极影响。
