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Introduction: Recent federal policy initiatives (e.g., 988 Lifeline, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics) aim to increase access to mental health crisis services. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of U.S. adults reporting being “very likely” to reach out to different sources if they/a loved one were experiencing suicidality or a mental health crisis. Methods: A nationally representative Ipsos KnowledgePanel survey of 5,058 U.S. adults (response rate = 55.0 %) in English and Spanish was conducted in June 2023. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the reported likelihood of reaching out to five different sources of support in a crisis, controlling for past 30-day psychological distress and demographic characteristics. Results: One-in-four respondents (27.8 %; 95 % CI = 26.5 %, 29.0 %) were very likely to reach out to a crisis line and 33.6 % (95 % CI = 32.3 %, 34.9 %) were very likely to reach out to a mental health professional. A friend/family member was the most frequently identified source of support (44.7 %; 95 % CI = 43.4 %, 46.1 %). After adjustment, people of younger ages, male gender, and identifying as Republican had significantly lower odds of reporting being very likely to reach out to a crisis line and mental health professional. Black and Hispanic respondents had significantly higher odds of reporting being very likely to reach out to a crisis line and someone in their religious network than non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusions: Most U.S. adults report not being very likely to reach out to a crisis line or mental health professional if experiencing suicidality/crisis, although variation across demographic groups exists.

The Syrian conflict was characterized by intense political contestation and violent clashes among various actors with contrasting views of statehood, a phenomenon termed ‘state-diffusion’. Within this landscape, Islamists, Kurdish separatists, and Ba'thists embody distinct perceptions of the Syrian state and nation. This study aims to measure the extent of “state-diffusion” in post-conflict Syria by exploring the outcomes of an independent public opinion survey. Specifically, it focuses on Syrians’ acceptance/rejection of the Assad regime by comparing regions that witnessed significant conflict-induced leadership changes with those that did not. The results reveal that regions under opposition’s governance exhibit a higher tendency towards ‘state-diffusion’; indicating a leaning towards rejecting the Syrian state-building and national unity initiated by the Assad regime. This rejection seemingly stems from the emergence of an alternative state and nation distinct from the existing Syrian nation-state. However, Assad’s legitimacy was more likely to be recognized in regions where the regime regained control after the conflict, perhaps due to their bitter experience of the devastating war and prolonged political turmoil. Thus, the ‘victory’ of the Assad regime does not necessarily promise the end of the conflict. Syrians are having a difficult time accommodating the resurgence of ‘Suriyya al-Asad’ or ‘Authoritarian Conflict Management’, leaving concerns about the future of political stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can residents of Ukraine discern between pro-Kremlin disinformation and true statements? Moreover, which pro-Kremlin disinformation claims are more likely to be believed, and by which audiences? We present the results from two surveys carried out in 2019—one online and the other face-to-face—that address these questions in Ukraine, where the Russian government and its supporters have heavily targeted disinformation campaigns. We find that, on average, respondents can distinguish between true stories and disinformation. However, many Ukrainians remain uncertain about a variety of disinformation claims' truthfulness. We show that the topic of the disinformation claim matters. Disinformation about the economy is more likely to be believed than disinformation about politics, historical experience, or the military. Additionally, Ukrainians with partisan and ethnolinguistic ties to Russia are more likely to believe pro-Kremlin disinformation across topics. Our findings underscore the importance of evaluating multiple types of disinformation claims present in a country and examining these claims' target audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizens, businesses, and governments faced energy scarcity, skyrocketing costs, and a high degree of unpredictability due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This situation has forced the European Union and national governments to switch to local energy resources and increase energy efficiency more strictly. But has society's attitude changed in the same way? Two separate public opinion surveys and network analyses were carried out to gain an understanding of energy efficiency practices prevalent in Latvia before and after the war erupted. In addition, the energy community simulation tool has been used to quantify the economic indicators under various conditions. The household survey results show that there, in fact, have been relatively few measures adopted to increase energy efficiency among the population during the energy crisis. The developed policy energy community simulation tool shows, that the energy costs in existing multi-family buildings have increased from around 61 EUR/m2 to 83.5 EUR/m2. However, it is still not motivating households to seek solutions toward more efficient energy use and RES generation due to the governmental subsidies to cover steep cost increases. Interventions targeting efficient energy communities through building managers would give higher strength and long-term effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public opinion may influence the adoption of technologies for older adults, yet studies on different contexts of technology for older adults is limited. In an online YouGov survey ( N = 500 ) with text-and-image vignettes, participants gave more positive ratings of social acceptability, trust, and perceived impact on eldercare when the voice assistant ("VA" system) shown in the vignette performed a functional task (medication adherence) versus when it performed a social task (companionship). The VA received more positive sentiment comments when it appeared to use a machine learning (ML)-based dialogue system compared to when it appeared to be using a rule-based dialogue system. These results may assist designers and stakeholders select what type of voice system to develop or use with older adults., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Water scarcity is a real global threat that must be tackled to ensure biodiversity conservation, human welfare and development, and sustainability. Direct potable reuse (DPR) has been considered a promising strategy to guarantee public supply in regions with severe problems with water scarcity and high-water demand. The success of reuse practices mainly depends on the triad technology, regulation, and public acceptance. This study investigated public acceptance as a technical parameter to assess the implementation feasibility of DPR in large cities of developing countries. Residents of Campinas City (São Paulo, Brazil) were consulted through a multiple-response questionnaire addressing sociodemographic aspects, personal environmental perceptions, and the acceptable uses for wastewater reuse. The results showed a low rejection rate (∼7%) to DPR despite this not being regulated in Brazil. A total of 47% of the volunteers declared that they would accept the DPR of domestic sewage after appropriate treatments and technologies approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), and 46% would accept it after more information. Age was an essential factor for DPR acceptance, being greater among those between 30 and 45 years old. No statistically significant differences in potable reuse acceptability were observed among participants' sex and self-declaration of race. The majority of volunteers (85%) considered water reuse very important, and most participants (51%) already practice non-potable household water reuse daily and do so out of environmental awareness. Trust in the water supply concessionaire was a key factor in DPR acceptance. This study is essential for discussing innovative public-oriented solutions to achieve water security in developing countries, especially considering the scarcity of investigations on DPR acceptability in South America. Public Opinion indicates positive acceptance of Direct Potable Reuse in a Metropolitan city of Brazil that already has a good sanitation index but is vulnerable to water scarcity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of survey, implemented within the LIFE BioTHOP project. It was carried out in summer 2022, 3 years after the project start, as an online survey. A total of 509 respondents (N=509) participated; 162 responses from outside of Slovenia and 347 from Slovenia. Questions on agriculture, attitudes and opinions on the introduction of BioTHOP biodegradable products in agriculture, sustainable development and circular economy with a focus on project results were included. The highest percentage of the respondents were hop growers (20%), followed by mechanical engineers (16%), other professions (15%), 13% amateur gardening, specialists in agriculture (11%), nature lovers (11%), and winemakers (10%). 61% were well acquainted with the concept of circular economy. 83% agree that agriculture has a big impact on the cultural landscape. 74% think that by 2035 the use of biodegradable plastics will increase. 73% considered the reduction of conventional plastics in the agriculture as very important. 76% were interested in biodegradable products as a more sustainable alternative. 56% consider that we could act better with the waste from agricultural production and 31% that we must act better. 50% believe that the waste material should be returned to the seller and the seller should arrange its proper treatment, while 40% think each waste producer must take care of it themselves. 43% of hop-growers will start composting on their farms, now when the guidelines are available, 35% of them think about it, while 9% of them already do it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lay attitudes are often seen as potential barriers to mental health recovery. But apart from perceiving them as potential barriers, they can also play an important role in stimulating individuals to consult (in)formal help sources, in particular through the process of help referral. Where existing research mainly focusses on actual help seeking behaviour, this study will focus on lay publics' referral behaviour. Aims: This study analyses the relation between causal beliefs and stigmatising attitudes and social distance on the one hand, and (in)formal help seeking recommendations on the other. Methods: Data from a survey carried out in 2019, assessing the attitudes of Public Health Insurance Provider (HIP) members towards mental health problems, was used. Part of the survey questions was based on a quantitative quasi-experimental design, using hypothetical written vignettes. The weighted data represent a sample of the adult Flemish population (22–94 years, N = 5675). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the relation between causal beliefs and stigma, while binominal logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relation between causal beliefs and help seeking recommendations. Results: The results reveal that causal beliefs significantly associate with stigma, measured by stigmatising attitudes and social distance: personal- or biogenetic beliefs associate with more stigma, where psychosocial beliefs associate with less stigma. Concerning help seeking recommendations, psychosocial beliefs associate with recommending psychological or psychotherapeutic care, biogenetic beliefs associate with advising help from general practitioners and suggesting psychiatric help, while personal beliefs negatively associate with recommending formal help. Meanwhile, biogenetic beliefs associate with less informal help seeking recommendations (e.g. family, friends and online self-help), where personal beliefs associate with more informal help seeking recommendations and psychosocial beliefs only associate with online help referral. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of causal beliefs in affecting public stigma and help seeking recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of issues that occupy agenda of Republic of Turkey's young people's opinions, thoughts, and preferences of young people. For viability and sustainability of decisions and preferences to be taken in social, political, and economic fields, its essential to address views and thoughts of youth. This study draws demographic, social, and economic profiles of young people who don't trust state institutions and are politically unstable; sets out expectations of relevant group. Thus, its aimed to be a reference for policymakers for long-term plans. Answers given to questions of 2020 Socioecopolitic Youth Survey of young people ages of 18-30 living in Istanbul who don't vote in political elections or are undecided, and who can generally be called insecure or undecided politicians, were evaluated. Within study, distrust of institutions and political indecision tendency among young people residing in Istanbul and its social, political, and economic reasons were examined. Within scope of study, distribution of groups separated as undecided and insecure among youth is given. According to data obtained, its understood that segments called "Insecure" and "Undecided" represent an important group among young people and this group shows similar tendencies. This similarity brings up the evaluation of "Insecure" and "Undecided" individuals as a separate group. Therefore, the determination of the behaviors of these two groups becomes important in order to understand these groups. In study, its suggested that decision-makers reduce feeling of insecurity by applying necessary policies towards these groups and thus increase loyalty of groups to their country and society they live in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown mixed findings regarding the relationship between network heterogeneity on social media and opinion polarization. Focusing on individual-level variables (i.e., individuals' political orientation, fear of a risky situation, and fear of an out-group), the objective of this study was to investigate opinion polarization over North Korean issues that have brought out threats to South Koreans and tangled with political orientations in the nation. Our analysis indicated that network heterogeneity on social media could decrease polarization. Moderation effects of political orientation and fear of political opponents in the relationship between network heterogeneity and polarization were also found. Findings of this study extend previous discussions regarding the relationship between network heterogeneity and polarization in the context of social media by concentrating on North Korea's threatening situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the results of the annual survey of public opinion in Japan regarding the attitude of the Japanese to other countries and regions in 2018. The survey recorded a decline in sympathy of the Japanese to the USA and Russia. North Korea still remains a rogue State for Japan. The opinion polls of the Russians regarding their attitude to Japan and its territorial claims are also reviewed. Although the share of the Russians sympathizing Japan grew a little, the attitude to the transfer of a part of the Kuril Islands to Japan remains negative in Russia.

Background and Objective: New and more efficient methods of gene editing have intensified the ethical and legal issues associated with editing germlines. Yet no research has separated the impact of hereditary concern on public attitudes from moral concern. This research compares the impact these two concerns have on public attitudes across five applications including, the prevention of human disease, human and animal research, animals for the use of human food and the enhancement of human appearance.Methods: A sample of 1004 Australians responded to either a telephone (n = 501; randomly selected) or online survey (n = 503; sourced by Qualtrics). Both samples were representative in terms of States and Territories as well as gender (51% female), though the online sample was younger (M = 40.64, SD = 16.98; Range = 18–87) than the telephone sample (M = 54.79, SD = 18.13; Range = 18–96). A 5 (application) by 3 (type of cell) within groups design was utilized, where all respondents reported their level of approval with scientists editing genes across the 15 different contexts. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the impact of moral (embryo vs. germ) and hereditary (germ vs. somatic) concern on attitudes across all applications.Results: Australians were comfortable with editing human and animal embryos, but only for research purposes and to enhance human health. The effect of moral concern was stronger than hereditary concern, existing in all applications except for the use of animals for human purposes. Hereditary concern was only found to influence attitudes in two applications: improving human health and human research. Moral concern was found to be accentuated amongst, women, more religious individuals and those identifying as Australian, while hereditary concern was strongest amongst non-Australians, those with stronger trust in scientists, and more religious respondents.Conclusion: Moral and hereditary concerns are distinct, and require different approaches to public education, engagement and possibly regulation. Further research needs to explore hereditary concern in relation to non-human applications, and the reasons underlying cultural and gender differences.

The widespread international condemnation of the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014 is at odds with the strong local support for the transfer of territory in the peninsula. Though regarded as illegitimate by most governments as indicated in a UN General Assembly vote, the Russian government argued that the transfer was justified since it reflected the majority opinion in Crimea. The examination of attitudes in December 2014 through a representative survey in Crimea confirmed the support for territorial transfer and indicated that most residents believed that their well-being would improve as a result. Most lamented the end of the Soviet Union but strongly trusted President Putin and his policies as a way to improve the local economy. Nearly everyone had Russian citizenship less than a year after the annexation. There was little difference between the biggest demographic groupings, Russians and Ukrainians, in attitudes and beliefs. Exceptionally, the Tatar minority consistently demonstrated opposition to the annexation, distrust of Putin and supported a return to the circumstances that the peninsula had experienced after 1991. With the exception of this minority, the annexation continues to garner wide popular approval despite international opprobrium, sanctions against Russia and sustained geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea region. This is the Crimea conundrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debates on how to foster civic participation have intensified in current years, especially with the coming of digital era. New electronic social networks and other digital platforms promising the unseen possibilities for variety of activities including civic participation, has been emphasized as a factor facilitating civic engagement (Smith, 2013). In this article, we test a hypothesis that people, who are actively engaged in electronic social networks at the same time are more likely participate in civic activities. The findings show that electronic social networks generally have a positive relationship with participation in various civic activities. More specifically, we find that engagement in specific networked activities, such as “offering topics for discussion”, “contributing to organized events” or “publication of content” have more influence on civic participation than others.

Multiple nationwide opinion surveys, carried out by the government (cabinet office), major media (national newspapers and NHK), the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, have revealed that the Fukushima nuclear accident has heightened people's perception of disaster risks, fear of nuclear accidents, and increased recognition of pollution issues, and has changed public opinion on nuclear energy policy. The opinion gap on nuclear energy policy between specialists and lay people has widened since the disaster. The results of the Japanese General Social Survey data show that objections to the promotion of nuclear energy are strong among females, and weaker among young males and the supporters of the LDP. These findings are similar to the data collected after the Chernobyl accident. People who live in a 70km radius of nuclear plants tend to evaluate nuclear disaster risks higher. Distance from nuclear plants and the perception of earthquake risk interactively correlate with opinions on nuclear issues. Among people whose evaluation of earthquake risk is low, those who live nearer to the plants are more likely to object to the abolishment of nuclear plants. It was also found that the nuclear disaster has changed people's behavior; they now try to save electricity. The level of commitment to energy saving is found to relate to opinions on nuclear issues.

The debates on how to foster civic participation have intensified in current years, especially with the coming of digital era. New electronic social networks and other digital platforms promising the unseen possibilities for variety of activities including civic participation, has been emphasized as a factor facilitating civic engagement (Smith, 2013). In this article, we test a hypothesis that people, who are actively engaged in electronic social networks at the same time are more likely participate in civic activities. The findings show that electronic social networks generally have a positive relationship with participation in various civic activities. More specifically, we find that engagement in specific networked activities, such as “offering topics for discussion”, “contributing to organized events” or “publication of content” have more influence on civic participation than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While connected, highly automated, and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will eventually hit the roads, their success and market penetration rates depend largely on public opinions regarding benefits, concerns, and adoption of these technologies. Additionally, the introduction of these technologies is accompanied by uncertainties in their effects on the carsharing market and land use patterns, and raises the need for tolling policies to appease the travel demand induced due to the increased convenience. To these ends, this study surveyed 1088 respondents across Texas to understand their opinions about smart vehicle technologies and related decisions. The key summary statistics indicate that Texans are willing to pay (WTP) $2910, $4607, $7589, and $127 for Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 automation and connectivity, respectively, on average. Moreover, affordability and equipment failure are Texans’ top two concerns regarding AVs. This study also estimates interval regression and ordered probit models to understand the multivariate correlation between explanatory variables, such as demographics, built-environment attributes, travel patterns, and crash histories, and response variables, including willingness to pay for CAV technologies, adoption rates of shared AVs at different pricing points, home location shift decisions, adoption timing of automation technologies, and opinions about various tolling policies. The practically significant relationships indicate that more experienced licensed drivers and older people associate lower WTP values with all new vehicle technologies. Such parameter estimates help not only in forecasting long-term adoption of CAV technologies, but also help transportation planners in understanding the characteristics of regions with high or low future-year CAV adoption levels, and subsequently, develop smart strategies in respective regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses recent theorizing of privacy arising from new technologies that allow constant and ubiquitous monitoring of our communication and movement. The theoretical part analyses Helen Nissenbaum’s theory of contextual integrity of privacy and pluralistic understanding of privacy by Daniel Solove. The empirical part presents the results of an online survey on the Slovenian public perceptions of privacy that includes questions on types and frequency of victimizations relating to the right to privacy; self-reported privacy violations; concern for the protection of one’s own privacy; perception of primary privacy offenders; the value of privacy; attitude towards data retention in public telecommunication networks; and acquaintance with the Information Commissioner of RS. Despite growing distrust of large internet corporations and – after Edward Snowden’s revelations – Intelligence agencies, the findings indicate a low degree of awareness and care for the protection of personal data.

This paper analyses the scale and sources of views on the prevalence of corruption in the education sector in Poland. Through the use of public opinion surveys, I answer questions on how the corruption level in Polish educational institutions has changed over time and how it compares to other public institutions (such as the health care sector and police) and to the situation in other European countries. My goal is to investigate the effect of individual-level predictors of perceiving schools as corrupt in Poland, with special attention given to structural determinants and previous bribe-giving experiences of respondents. The results reveal that in Poland relatively few respondents have experienced recent acts of giving bribes in schools or perceive educational institutions as corrupt. However, there is a structural pattern behind the sources of negative opinions. The effect of socio-economic determinants on views relating to corruption in Polish schools is strongly pronounced and trends in the opposite direction compared to the effects reported in other European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explanatory models accounting for variation in policy choices by democratic governments usually include a demand (by the public) and a supply (by the government) component, whereas the latter component is usually better developed from a measurement viewpoint. The main reason is that public opinion surveys, the standard approach to measuring public demand, are expensive, difficult to implement simultaneously for different countries for purposes of crossnational comparison and impossible to implement ex post for purposes of longitudinal analysis if survey data for past time periods are lacking. We therefore propose a new approach to measuring public demand, focussing on political claims made by nongovernmental actors and expressed in the news. To demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of our measure of published opinion, we focus on climate policy in the time period between 1995 and 2010. When comparing the new measure of published opinion with the best available public opinion survey and internet search data, it turns out that our data can serve as a meaningful proxy for public demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the spring of 2014, some anti-Maidan protestors in southeast Ukraine, in alliance with activists from Russia, agitated for the creation of a large separatist entity on Ukrainian territory. These efforts sought to revive a historic region called Novorossiya (“New Russia”) on the northern shores of the Black Sea that was created by Russian imperial colonizers. In public remarks, Vladimir Putin cited Novorossiya as a historic and contemporary home of a two-part interest group, ethnic Russian and Russian-speaking Ukrainians, supposedly under threat in Ukraine. Anti-Maidan agitation in Ukraine gave way to outright secession in April 2014, as armed rebel groups established the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhans’k People’s Republic on parts of the eponymous Ukrainian oblasts. Rebel leaders aspired to create a renewed Novorossiya that incorporated all of eastern and southern Ukraine from Kharkiv to Odesa oblasts. To examine the level of support for this secessionist imaginary in the targeted oblasts, our large scientific poll in December 2014 revealed the Novorossiya project had minority support, between 20 and 25% of the population. About half of the sample believed that the concept of Novorossiya was a “historical myth” and that its resuscitation and promotion was the result of “Russian political technologies.” Analysis of the responses by socio-demographic categories indicated that for ethnic Russians, residents of the oblasts of Kharkiv and Odesa, for older and poorer residents, and especially for those who retain a nostalgic positive opinion about the Soviet Union, the motivations and aims of the Novorossiya project had significant support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agenda setting theory postulates that the amount of media attention given to an issue determines the importance the public gives to that issue. This article relies on the theory of agenda setting to determine the relationship between media presentation and public opinion about Croatia’s integration process into the EU. It looks at the importance of seven topics related to the issue in three subsequent periods from July 2002 to June 2003. It uses public opinion survey data and content analysis of daily newspapers to examine the relationship between topics in the media and their support among the public. The results reveal an indication of agenda setting only in the first period, while there is no support for agenda setting in later periods. A comparison between each topics’ importance scores on both agendas shows that the occurrence or absence of agenda setting is associated with either extensive or minimal coverage of the economy in the media during each period. The findings of this study contrast with studies that have found a link between the media agenda and the public agenda.