Risk perceptions have been studied as individual cognitive mechanisms, where individuals collect, process and form perceptions of risk unconnected to a social system. Where there is recognition of social aspects such as the media, this has been treated as a source of information which may be influential, but subordinate to individual cognitive processes in forming risk perceptions. The individual level theories have not been seen to explain how perception of risk can vary between or within communities, or as is important in this research, how community members influence how individuals regard a particular risk. This has been addressed within the network theory of contagion which suggests that it is not the source of information, but the social linkages in communities that are important in focusing risk perceptions; “it is the relational aspects of individuals and the resulting networks that influence individual perceptions and build groups of like minded individuals” (Scherer & Cho, 2003:261). These social units function as attitude, knowledge or behavioural structures which facilitate or constrain the flow of information and influence to individuals within the network.
The social network contagion theory therefore suggests that an individual’s perceptions are influenced by the perceptions of individuals in their social network; “individuals adopt the attitude or behaviours of others in the social network with whom they communicate” (Scherer & Cho, 2003:262). The theory does not suggest that there is intent or an awareness to influence, only that communication takes place. Thus in this research, intergenerational communication about previous flood experience via narratives may lead to second generation migrants being influenced by the flood risk perceptions of first generation migrants.
Furthermore, involvement within social networks is seen to be an important factor in whether risk perceptions are shared. Scherer & Cho (2003) explored whether the dyadic similarity in risk perceptions is related to the strength of the network tie. Their hypothesis predicted that the more frequent the communication between two actors, the more similar their attitudes are likely to be. Their results indicated that “the strength of the dyadic interaction is a significant predictor of dyadic consensus or perceived level of risk” (Scherer & Cho, 2003: 266). Thus individuals are more likely to share risk perceptions if they have frequent contact with each other.
This is especially important in this research when it is considered that many migrant ethnic minority groups have strong social networks which involve frequent contact with friends and generations of kin and this may encourage communication and risk perceptions to be shared. These social networks consisting of a collection of relationships and social ties are often initiated by the migration process itself; “migration is rarely an isolated decision pursued by
individual agents, but rather a collective action involving families, kinships and other communal contacts” (Ryan, 2009:220). Research has suggested that pioneer migrants aim to seek out communities where there are individuals from similar origins because they are reassured by familiar norms and attitudes. Thus they will settle in areas where there are existing concentrated residents (Kobrin & Speare, 1983, Mayer, n.d).
This chain migration of relatives and friends often leads to extensive network formations. Essential elements of these networks include visiting relatives and friends to reinforce kinship ties, especially amongst first generation South Asian migrants (Ghuman, 2003). The lifestyles of first generation immigrants are understood to usually be close to those in their country of origin. This may include networking and social interactions and the duty of children to their parents. Thus ethnic minority households are also more likely to be extended families and involve multigenerational households (Weeks & Cuellar, 1981, Lindell & Perry, 2004). Through these actions it has been found that “different ethnicities are more deeply immersed than the majority in kin and friendship networks and community participation” (Lindell & Perry, 2004: 90).
The strong social networks of ethnic minority communities have been linked to facilitating the social context of warnings; “citizens do talk about hazard issues and relay information amongst themselves and this suggests that messages sent into communities will be relayed among residents through informal networks, consequently enhancing community coverage” (Perry & Nelson, 1991:584). The kin and friendship networks are related to the warning dissemination process; “the greater the frequency of contacts with kin, the more likely one is to receive additional warning information” (Tunstall, 2000:9). This highlights the importance of social networks for risk communication. This is important because having contact with the ethnic community means the likelihood of receiving warnings increases, and similarly, in this research, frequent contact with migrant ethnic minority networks may mean that intergenerational communication and transfer of risk perceptions is more likely. Thus in the context of this research, SARF and the social network contagion theory have been discussed and have been found to be interesting as they may inform our understanding of the intergenerational transmission of flood risk perceptions amongst migrant ethnic minority groups. Although SARF is applicable as it involves the communication networks through which risk information may flow, the social network contagion theory is believed to be more relevant because it relates to social communication and how individuals within the same community may have similar risk perceptions, and consequently this may be related to similar risk perceptions across generations.
The Cultural Theory of risk perception was also discussed earlier and it may be relevant in this research as it relates to similar risk perceptions across generations through the process of
enculturation. However this theory has been discussed as not being appropriate in this research based on its low explanatory power and difficulty in categorising individuals into different ‘ways of life’ especially because individuals adhere to different cultures in different situations.
Therefore based on existing research which highlights that there are strong social networks within migrant ethnic minority groups, the social network contagion theory, which relates to the social linkages in communities in focusing risk perceptions, is considered most appropriate for understanding how previous flood experiences may be shared intergenerationally via narratives and how this may lead to the transfer of risk perceptions from first to second generation migrants. This theory will therefore be taken forward in this research and be used to frame the thesis and understand the results in terms of the intergenerational communication of flood experiences and the transmission of flood risk perceptions.
Scherer & Cho (2003) also indicated that individuals who are not in frequent contact are less likely to have the same information about a topic and are less likely to share similar attitudes and beliefs. Thus if there is less contact between migrant generations, then intergenerational communication may be limited and risk perceptions and response to flood risk may not be influenced. The distance between migrant generations may be due to the acculturation process and is discussed further in Section 2.6