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Forskningsartikel2016Vetenskapligt granskadÖppen tillgång

Factors governing human fear of wolves: moderating effects of geographical location and standpoint on protected nature

Johansson, Maria; Sandström, Camilla; Pedersen, Eja; Ericsson, Göran

Sammanfattning

This study analyses psychological antecedents of feelings of fear of wolves in a proportional sample of the Swedish population (national sample, n = 545) and in a sample of people in counties with wolf presence (regional sample, n = 1,892). Structural equation modelling of survey data suggests a dual pathway to self-reported fear. One path encompasses the appraisal of the environmental context operationalised as a potential wolf encounter. The second path concerns the appraisal of the social context assessed as social trust in managing authorities. The relative importance of the paths differs between the national and the regional sample, and between people in the administrative centre of the region and the regional periphery. We show that the public's fear of wolves should be addressed both at an individual level, focusing on situations with potential encounters, and at a collective level, by strengthening the trust between the public and authorities, and regional variation should be considered.

Nyckelord

Fear; Appraisal; Trust; Wolves

Publicerad i

European Journal of Wildlife Research
2016, Volym: 62, nummer: 6, sidor: 749-760

      Associerade SLU-program

      Framtidens skogar (tom Jan 2017)
      SLU Future Forests

      UKÄ forskningsämne

      Vilt- och fiskeförvaltning
      Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap
      Ekologi

      Publikationens identifierare

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-016-1054-5

      Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/79579