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The Effects of Precautionary Messages about Electromagnetic Fields from Mobile Phones and Base Stations Revisited: The Role of Recipient Characteristics.

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Boehmert C, Wiedemann P, Pye J, Croft R. · 2016

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Precautionary messages about RF-EMFs affected threat perception depending on trait anxiety and gender, but did not increase state anxiety.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers surveyed 298 university students after they read either a basic text about RF-EMFs or a text with precautionary information. Linear multiple regression with interactions showed that the effect of precautionary messages on threat perception varied with trait anxiety and gender. Precautionary information did not increase state anxiety compared to the basic text. Personal need for structure and personal fear of invalidity were mostly unrelated to the effects.

Why This Matters

The study explored how recipient characteristics interact with precautionary messages about electromagnetic fields. The findings indicate that threat perception effects depend on trait anxiety and gender, while precautionary communication did not heighten state anxiety.

Study Details

The current study explored the interplay of variables on the side of message recipients with this effect. The individual difference variables of interest were gender, trait anxiety, personal need for structure, and personal fear of invalidity. Furthermore, the study determined whether the increased threat perception is accompanied by emotional distress.

A total of 298 university students answered a survey after reading either a basic text about RF-EMFs...

Regarding participants' emotional distress, we found no difference in state anxiety scores between t...

The findings show that the effects of precautionary messages on threat perception depend on individual difference variables such as recipients' trait anxiety and gender. Also, the fact that precautionary communication did not result in heightened state anxiety challenges the assumption that precautionary messages induce fear or anxiety.

Cite This Study
Boehmert C, Wiedemann P, Pye J, Croft R. (2016). The Effects of Precautionary Messages about Electromagnetic Fields from Mobile Phones and Base Stations Revisited: The Role of Recipient Characteristics. Risk Anal. 2016 May 10. doi: 10.1111/risa.12634.
Show BibTeX
@article{c_2016_the_effects_of_precautionary_1916,
  author = {Boehmert C and Wiedemann P and Pye J and Croft R.},
  title = {The Effects of Precautionary Messages about Electromagnetic Fields from Mobile Phones and Base Stations Revisited: The Role of Recipient Characteristics.},
  year = {2016},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27163281/},
}
PubMed: 27163281

Cited By (15 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers surveyed 298 university students after they read either a basic text about RF-EMFs or a text with precautionary information.
The study examined gender, trait anxiety, personal need for structure, and personal fear of invalidity as individual difference variables.
Precautionary information did not increase state anxiety compared to the basic text.
The effect of precautionary messages on threat perception varied with trait anxiety, and this relationship depended on gender.
Personal need for structure and personal fear of invalidity were mostly unrelated to the effect of precautionary messages.