Coping With a Health Threat: A Study of Food Safety¹

Abstract

The coping strategies used to respond to the perceived health threat of contaminated food are examined. Six hundred and thirty randomly selected adults in the state of Iowa responded to a mailed questionnaire asking their attitudes and behaviors concerning food safety. A principal component analysis of coping measure identified two distinct coping strategies–problem solving and fatalism/avoidance/ trust. Multiple regression analysis showed that the respondents who tended to be health conscious (i. e., engaged in health protective behaviors and had better quality diets) and perceived unsafe food as a personal threat and a social problem were more likely to select problem solving as a coping mechanism. The respondents who were low in health consciousness were more likely to select the approaches of fatalism/ avoidance. Social class variables did not differentiate coping strategies.