 The development of attitudes toward science and technology: a longitudinal analysis of Generation XJon D Miller, Belén Laspra, Carmelo Polino, Glenn Branch, Mark S Ackerman and Robert T Pennock Science and Public Policy, 2025, vol. 52, issue 1, 16-31 Abstract: Research on public attitudes toward science and technology policy has relied on surveys taken at single points in time. These surveys fail to indicate how these attitudes develop or change. In this study, we use data from the Longitudinal Study of American Life that has followed a national sample of Generation X for 33 years—from middle school to midlife. We demonstrate that the critical period for the formation of attitudes toward science and technology is the 15–18 years after high school—college, work, family, and career. The attitudes formed in this period remain stable for most individuals during midlife. This work provides an important perspective for scientists, engineers, and the leadership of the scientific community in their efforts to foster positive attitudes toward science and technology and to understand the roots of concerns and reservations about science. Keywords: science policy; technology policy; longitudinal; structural equation model; Generation X; education plans and attainment; civic scientific literacy; partisanship; religious fundamentalism (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:scippl:v:52:y:2025:i:1:p:16-31. Access Statistics for this article Science and Public Policy is currently edited by Nicoletta Corrocher, Jeong-Dong Lee, Mireille Matt and Nicholas Vonortas More articles in Science and Public Policy from Oxford University Press |
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