Types of household composition that influence energy problem beliefs and home energy conservation behaviors according to resource constraints among western United States' renters

Graduation date: 1987The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of two types of renter households' energy problem belief and energy conservation behaviors. The theoretical framework for this study was Niemeyer's (1982) model of energy adjustment. Niemeyer found that resource constraints were the significant factors in the number of existing energy-saving features in the dwelling. The 1983 Western States regional data from the Western Regional Project W-159: "Consequences of Energy Conservation Policies for Western Region Households," were used for this study. Pearson correlations and analysis of covariance statistical tests provided a method for identifying differences between jointly-headed households' and female-headed households' energy problem "belief and home energy conservation behaviors. Frequency distributions were run on unweighted data in order to describe the respondents by demographic characteristics. The sample consisted mostly of jointly-headed households (64.1%). The mean age of jointly-headed households and female-headed households was 39.8 and 43.3 years respectively. Most jointly-headed households and female-headed households had "some college" education. The median income of jointly-headed households fell within the range from $20,000 to $25,000, compared to female-headed households which was within the $10,000 to $15,000 range. The majority of jointly-headed households (54.1%) had children, while the majority of female-headed households (77.8%) had no children. The jointly-headed households and female-headed households believed differently about the energy problem in the United States when controlled for age (p=.026), education (p=.003), and income (p=.046). This study also hypothesized that the type of renter household (jointly-headed vs female-headed) might make a difference in home energy conservation behaviors. Testing revealed a significant difference between jointly-headed and female-headed households on the mean number of home energy conservation behaviors reported, when controlled for age (p=.000), number of children (p=.019), and type of household (p=.000) These findings could contribute to the energy conservation research and programs developed by housing educators, researchers, and governmental housing planners