Association of attitudes towards genetically modified food among young adults and their referent persons

Most research on consumer attitudes does not consider that attitudes are likely influenced by people with whom we have some relationship even though socioeconomic, psychological and political theories recognize the importance of referent individuals’ opinions in attitude formation. Knowledge on the role of referent individuals’ opinions in attitude formation could improve the understanding of consumer acceptance of foods frequently associated with health or other concerns. This article examines the association of attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) crops and foods between young adults and their referent individuals using data collected in 2016 via surveys from the Czech Republic, Russia and Ukraine. Loglinear models of cell counts in contingency tables reveal a positive association of GM food attitudes between young adults and their referent individuals. This association was stronger in Russia and the Czech Republic than it was in Ukraine and stronger between female young adults and their referent individuals than between males and their referent individuals. Concordance in GM food attitudes with mothers is significantly stronger than concordance with best friends but not significantly different from concordance with fathers.

现有关于消费者态度的研究大多未考虑到，个体态度可能会受到自身有社交联系的他人的影响——尽管社会经济、心理与政治领域的理论早已认可参照个体（referent individuals）的意见在态度形成过程中的重要作用。厘清参照个体意见在态度形成中的作用，有助于深化对消费者接受与健康或其他相关顾虑食品的认知。本文基于2016年捷克共和国、俄罗斯及乌克兰三地的问卷调查数据，探究了青年群体与其参照个体之间对转基因（GM）作物及食品的态度关联。列联表单元格计数的对数线性模型结果显示，青年群体与其参照个体之间的转基因食品态度呈显著正相关。该态度关联在俄罗斯与捷克共和国的样本中强于乌克兰，且女性青年群体与其参照个体间的关联强度高于男性青年群体。青年群体与母亲之间的转基因食品态度一致性显著强于与挚友的一致性，但与父亲之间的态度一致性并无显著差异。