Nuclear Fears and Concerns among College Students: A Cross-National Study of Attitudes

Using a nuclear attitudes questionnaire (NAQ) developed by Newcomb (1986), we attempted to replicate the factor structure found in studies of Americans. Data were collected from American, British, and Swedish students. We predicted that (1) fears regarding nuclear issues cross national boundaries; (2) women are more concerned about nuclear issues than men; and (3) the more salient nuclear issues are, the more fear students feel. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the hypothesized factor structure was similar across the three student groups. Two-way analyses of variance revealed some mean differences on the NAQ scales by sex and nation. Women indicated more nuclear concern, more fear for the future, less denial, and less nuclear support as well as more nuclear fear than men. Swedish students expressed less nuclear concern and fear for the future than their counterparts. Nuclear denial was not evident in the three student samples. Interaction effects between sex and nationality were also found. The NAQ scales were significantly correlated with a measure of nuclear salience. The three hypotheses are generally confirmed.