유전공학 응용 식품 및 의약품에 대한 위험 지각의 성차 = Sex differences in risk perception of genetically engineered food and medicine

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Two hypotheses of sex difference in risk perception of genetically engineered food and medicine - a gender role and an institution trust hypothesis - were evaluated in the present psychometric study using a student sample(N=519). The gender role hypothesis that emphasizes differences in social roles proposes that the female care takers should feel strong risk perception because they are sensitive to risks. The institution trust hypothesis explains gender differences in risk perception by differences in the trust in risk management systems and/or institutions. The present study replicated the finding that the female participants had stronger risk perception of genetically engineered food and medicines than did the male participants. No sex differences were found in the knowledge and fear dimension regarding the risk perception of genetic engineering. Though the female and male participants did not show any difference in their trust in the risk managements systems, a clear sex difference was observed in the fear response. A regression analysis demonstrated that a fear variable did indeed predict the strength of risk perception whereas a trust variable did not. Furthermore, the finding that the fear variable was the strongest predictor for the female participants also supports the gender role hypothesis while rejecting the institution trust hypothesis.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 유전공학 응용 식품 및 의약품에 대한 남녀 간 위험 지각의 차이를 설명하는 성역할 이론과 제도신뢰 가설의 타당성을 519명의 대학생을 대상으로 심리측정 연구방법을 이용하여 검증하였다. 남녀 간 사회적 역할의 차이를 강조하는 성역할 이론은 양육자의 역할을 담당하는 여성들이 위험에 대하여 두려움과 같은 부정적 정서를 더 강하게 경험하기 때문에 위험을 더 크게 지각한다고 주장한다. 제도신뢰가설은 위험 관리 기관 또는 제도에 대한 남녀 간 신뢰 수준의 차이로 위험지각의 성차를 설명한다. 선행 연구들과 마찬가지로 본 연구의 조사대상인 여성들은 남성들보다 유전공학 위험을 더 강하게 지각하고 있었다. 유전공학 위험을 지식과 두려움의 차원에서 지각하는 것은 남녀 간 차이가 없었다. 유전공학 위험을 관리하는 제도 또는 기관에 대한 신뢰에서는 성차가 나타나지 않았지만, 두려움이라는 정서 반응의 강도에서 남녀 간 차이가 확실히 나타났다. 회귀분석에서 신뢰 변수는 지각된 위험 강도를 예측하지 못하였지만, 두려움과 관련된 위험특성들이 주요 예측 변수로 밝혀졌다. 또한 두려움은 남성보다 여성에게서 보다 강력한 예측 변수로 작용하고 있었다. 이 결과들은 제도신뢰가설보다 성역할 이론을 지지한다.

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