1.1.2. Risk Perceptions

Alongside trust, risk perceptions have also been established as a driving factor in the acceptance of tap water [17,18]. Risk is conceptualized as a function of the perceived likelihood of an unwanted event occurring and the severity of consequence should that unwanted event occur [34]. Risk perceptions are a frequent object of study in natural resource management, where institutions are charged with protecting the public from hazards such as poor water quality [35]. Saylor (2011) found that barriers to drinking tap water include both low trust and perceived health risks associated with the tap [21]. Similarly, Hu et al.'s (2011) national survey found that people who have safety concerns with their tap water are more likely to reject it as a drinking source [36]. This was also true when household filtered water was included as a drinking choice [37]. Triplett et al. (2019) found that the more residents believe their tap water is unsafe, contaminated, or likely to cause sickness, the more they consume bottled water compared to tap and household filtered water [37].

Risk has been conceptualized in drinking water studies most frequently as a cognitive indicator in surveys, asking how safe people believe their water is to drink [38,39]. Debbler et al. (2018) added to this by including a measure of affect-based risk [30]. While cognitive risk measures assess probability beliefs, affect risk measures assess worry, concern, or other emotional components associated with the occurrence of unwanted events. By examining both cognitive and affect measures, researchers can ge<sup>t</sup> a more complete picture of risk perceptions. Additionally, Saylor (2011) found that when people's perceived risk of bottled water is lower than their perceived risk of tap, they are less likely to accept tap water, introducing the concept of comparative risk to the water risk framework [21]. We conceptualize risk as a function of cognitive and affective perceptions of water safety and impressions of severity should one's drinking water be compromised. We included comparative risk of bottled and tap water as an additional measure of overall risk.
