The Relationship between Risk Perception of Cell Phones and Objective Knowledge of EMF in Korea

2020 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 1761

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020

Study typecross_sectional

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

The Relationship between Risk Perception of Cell Phones and Objective Knowledge of EMF in Korea Myung-Soon Seo, Jae-Wook Choi, Kyung-Hee Kim, Hyung-Do Choi. The Relationship between Risk Perception of Cell Phones and Objective Knowledge of EMF in Korea. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Oct 1;17(19):E7207. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17197207. Abstract This study examines differences between the level of objective knowledge regarding radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) and risk perception of cell phones in Korea. We also investigate the extent to which socio-demographic factors, perceived EMF exposure, objective knowledge regarding EMF, and psychological factors influence the risk perception of cell phones using hierarchical multiple regression. All 3393 study subjects completed a survey measuring the degree of risk perception of EMF. They were sampled in accordance with representative proportions of sex, age group, and region of residence as shown in the 2019 Resident Registration Population Statistics reported by Korea. The variables that have the most influence on risk perception of cell phones can be induced from the beta values for each variable: The subjective factor, perceived level of exposure to EMF (β = 0.253), was more strongly related to risk perception of cell phones than level of knowledge regarding EMF, an objective factor in this study. Of the psychological factors, Dreadfulness (β = 0.331), Personal knowledge (β = -174), and Familiarity (β = -089) influenced risk perceptions of cell phones; Controllability did not. On the risk cognition map, people though that it was easy to control risk related to Cell phone use in daily life, while risk related to High technology was uncontrollable. Open access paper: mdpi.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecross_sectional

Effect directionunclear

PopulationSurvey respondents in Korea sampled to match representative proportions of sex, age group, and region of residence (based on 2019 Resident Registration Population Statistics).

Sample size3393

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In hierarchical multiple regression, perceived level of exposure to EMF (β = 0.253) was more strongly related to risk perception of cell phones than objective knowledge regarding EMF. Psychological factors were associated with risk perception: Dreadfulness (β = 0.331) increased risk perception, while Personal knowledge (β = -0.174) and Familiarity (β = -0.089) decreased it; Controllability was not associated.

Outcomes measured

Risk perception of cell phones/EMF
Objective knowledge regarding RF-EMF
Perceived level of exposure to EMF
Psychological factors (Dreadfulness, Personal knowledge, Familiarity, Controllability)

Limitations

Cross-sectional survey design (associations only; causality not established).
Measures are survey-based, including perceived exposure and risk perception.

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Survey respondents in Korea sampled to match representative proportions of sex, age group, and region of residence (based on 2019 Resident Registration Population Statistics).",
  "sample_size": 3393,
  "outcomes": [
    "Risk perception of cell phones/EMF",
    "Objective knowledge regarding RF-EMF",
    "Perceived level of exposure to EMF",
    "Psychological factors (Dreadfulness, Personal knowledge, Familiarity, Controllability)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In hierarchical multiple regression, perceived level of exposure to EMF (β = 0.253) was more strongly related to risk perception of cell phones than objective knowledge regarding EMF. Psychological factors were associated with risk perception: Dreadfulness (β = 0.331) increased risk perception, while Personal knowledge (β = -0.174) and Familiarity (β = -0.089) decreased it; Controllability was not associated.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Cross-sectional survey design (associations only; causality not established).",
    "Measures are survey-based, including perceived exposure and risk perception."
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "risk perception",
    "RF-EMF",
    "cell phones",
    "objective knowledge",
    "perceived exposure",
    "psychological factors",
    "Korea",
    "survey",
    "hierarchical multiple regression"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Addresses public risk perception and knowledge about RF-EMF from cell phones, relevant to EMF risk communication context."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17197207
PubMed: Not supplied

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