Current trends in the acceptance of nuclear energy attitudes risk perceptions and mass communication

This article wants to compare up-to-date research results to the acceptance of nuclear energy. It gives the reader information on actual attitudes of the German and Western European public towards nuclear energy, and discusses a few determinants of attitude-forming. It will especially deal with aspects of risks perception of nuclear energy and discuss the impact of interpretation models used by mass media. At the end of the article, some conclusions will be drawn on future research. (author)