The American public is split on support for hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). This study seeks to better understand fracking attitudes by predicting support via economic, environmental, and public health concern. We find support for fracking is intertwined with political partisanship. We show those identifying as “other” political party are significantly more likely to claim “don’t know” in response to questions of fracking support. However, fracking attitudes are not solely the product of political ideology, but also of perceived effects on the environment, the economy, and especially public health.

2021    O’Neill, Brian F. and Matthew Jerome Schneider. “A Public Health Frame for Fracking? Predicting Public Support for Hydraulic Fracturing.” The Sociological Quarterly. Online at DOI 10.1080/00380253

• 2nd Place – 2020 Midwest Sociological Society graduate student paper competition

• Winner – 2019 George L. Beslow Award for outstanding unpublished graduate student paper in the Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Article featured in the January 2021 “Research Update” section of the prominent UK based Drill or Drop blog about fracking, its impacts, and public opinion. Online at https://drillordrop.com/2021/01/26/2021-research-update/