The Social Bases of Environmental Concern: A Review of Hypotheses, Explanations and Empirical Evidence.

This paper reports an evaluation of existing knowledge regarding the social bases of public concern with environmental quality. First, five popular hypotheses asserting relationships between environmental concern and eight demographic and social variables are reviewed, with particular attention paid to the theoretical explanations offered in support of each hypothesized relationship. Second, the results of 21 relevant studies are evaluated to determine the degree to which the empirical evidence supports the hypothesized relationships. Third, implications of the results of the review for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]