Abstract
This study was conducted to provide fundamental data on the awareness of radiation, specifically the differences between general awareness, psychological state and harmful effects. Data was collected from 334 University students in the Chungbuk region through a self-administered questionnaire. According to the results of the reliability and factor analysis, the awareness of radiation was 2.80, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.815 and KMO of 0.798. Factor analysis extracted three components of the awareness of radiation, which we named general awareness (factor 1), psychological state (factor 2), and harmful effect (factor 3). There were significant differences in the general awareness of natural radiation and radiation-containing foods (p<0.05), whereas no significant differences were found in the general awareness of radiation food supply (p>0.05). Also, the psychological state showed a significant difference in exposure inspection, future exposure, and radiation-containing food (p<0.05), whereas no significant differences were found in the refusal of radiation inspection (p>0.05). The harmful effects showed a significant difference in the rejection of radiation (p<0.05), but no significant differences in the cancer and genetic effects, diseases and physical harmfulness (p>0.05). A significant positive result (p<0.05) was found for the psychological state according to the harmful effects of radiation. Based on this study, detailed and continuous education must be accomplished by increasing the awareness of radiation and the acceptance level, conveying a proper understanding of radiation and assisting subjects with receiving the information they desire through various educational mediums.
