HAZE, HEAT, AND HUMAN BONDS: A MIXED METHODS STUDY OF ATTACHMENT’S INFLUENCE ON RISK INFORMATION BEHAVIOR AMONG OUTDOOR WORKERS FACING AIR QUALITY AND EXTREME HEAT HAZARDS

Abstract

Outdoor workers face disproportionate exposure to compound environmental hazards on the job, yet little is known about the factors that shape how they seek and process relevant risk information. This dissertation investigates these factors by integrating attachment theory into the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model to examine how attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance influence outdoor workers’ risk information seeking behaviors related to extreme heat and poor air quality. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the study first employed a national online survey (N = 220) of outdoor workers across the United States, followed by focus groups (N = 29) with municipal outdoor workers in Fort Collins, Colorado.Quantitative results from a series of hierarchical regressions and mediation analyses indicated that attachment orientations shaped key RISP model variables, though the strength and significance of these relationships varied by hazard. Specifically, attachment avoidance predicted reduced risk perception, negative affective response, and informational subjective norms in the extreme heat context, while attachment anxiety predicted increased negative affective response and informational subjective norms for extreme heat. Neither attachment anxiety nor attachment avoidance predicted information insufficiency, attitudes toward information seeking, or perceived information seeking control across either hazard. Core RISP model pathways were broadly supported across both hazard contexts. Qualitative findings yielded five key themes that expanded on and contextualized the quantitative results. First, workers perceived extreme heat as a more urgent and physically threatening hazard than air quality, which they often normalized or noticed only when symptoms became intolerable. Second, information seeking was shaped by peer behavior, supervisor guidance, and workplace norms; workers higher in attachment anxiety exhibited heightened sensitivity to social cues, while those higher in attachment avoidance tended to minimize risk and emphasize self-sufficiency. Third, workers expressed uncertainty about translating hazard indices, particularly the air quality index, into task-relevant decisions. Fourth, workers preferred task-specific information well in advance of hazard events to better plan protective actions into work schedules. Finally, workers expressed strong support for integrating air quality and heat information into a unified communication system to streamline workplace decision-making. Integration of the two phases confirmed that extreme heat functions as a more powerful motivational driver than poor air quality across emotional, social, and behavioral pathways, and expands our understanding of how differences in workers' motivational responses to each hazard can be put to work through integrated communication systems that use heat engagement as an entry point for air quality awareness. Overall, these findings make theoretical contributions by demonstrating that attachment orientation functions as a meaningful individual difference variable within the RISP model by influencing risk perception, affective response, and informational subjective norms, particularly for risks perceived as immediate and salient. These findings also challenge traditional distinctions between active and passive information seeking. Practically, the findings call for risk communication strategies that are emotionally and socially attuned, task-relevant, and reconsider vulnerable population message framing. Future research should continue to examine attachment effects on risk information seeking and avoidance across additional hazard contexts and among more diverse populations.