106 Almas and Conway: Resident Attitudes and Actions Toward Native Tree Species attitudes and actions, were examined through a series of analyses. To explore these attitudes, a PCA analysis was used to determine if differ- ent dimensions of attitudes toward native species exist based on responses to the 16 attitude state- ments in the survey. The relationships between the primary PCA-derived components of native species attitudes, the presence of an UFMP em- phasizing native species, and residents’ socio- demographic characteristics were examined using ANOVAs. Cross-tabulations and a logis- tic regression was utilized to explore factors correlated with the act of planting a native tree. First, basic summaries of each survey question were calculated to understand prevailing attitudes and actions, current property-level tree conditions, and respondents’ socio-demographics. Reponses to open- ended questions were coded using NVivo soſtware. Second, a PCA was completed to analyze rela- tionships among the 16 statements assessing atti- tudes toward native species. Given the exploratory nature of this study, a PCA was chosen to determine if discrete patterns existed among the responses to the different attitudinal statements. Components with eigenvalues greater than 1 were retained (Kim and Mueller 1978). These components were then used to represent different dimension of attitudes toward native trees when examining the relation- ship between native species attitudes and categorical variables representing socio-demographics, pres- ence of an UFMP, and residents’ actions in a series of ANOVAs. Bonferroni’s post hoc test was used to determine significant differences between groups when a significant relationship existed. Third, the relationship between planting native species, UFMP presence, and socio-demographic factors was initially examined through a series of cross-tabulations, using Cramer’s V as the test statistic. In order to meet the assumptions of Cra- mer’s V, some categories within variables, such as ethnicity (e.g., placing all European ethnicities in one category) and age, were combined to meet the minimum sample assumptions. Binary logis- tic regression was then used to further examine the factors related to having knowingly planted a native tree, defined as planting at least one native tree or not planting any native trees. The variables that have a significant relationship with plant- ing a native tree in the cross-tabulations were ini- ©2018 International Society of Arboriculture tially included in the model. A second model was examined that also included the attitudinal PCA components as explanatory variables to explore the importance of attitude in relation to action. It was expected that the presence of an UFMP in a municipality would be related to more posi- tive attitudes toward native species and a greater likelihood of planting a native species. It was also expected that residents with higher household incomes would be more likely to plant native spe- cies given that wealthier areas tend to have larger properties with larger planting areas (Gorman 2004; Lohr et al. 2004; Landry and Chakraborty 2009; Zhang and Zheng 2011), and residents with more disposable income have more choices when it comes to planting practices, which in turn can also lead to opinions being formed about what constitutes “better practice” (Kirk- patrick et al. 2012). Finally, researchers expected higher native species knowledge levels and positive attitudes toward native species would be related to actually planting native species. RESULTS Of the 1600 possible respondents, 90 surveys were not successfully delivered, and 552 surveys were completed, representing a 37% response rate. Lon- don had the highest response rate at 44%, while Markham had the lowest response rate at 29% (Table 1). The average age of the respondents was 58 years, and 55% were male. Forty-eight percent had earned at least a bachelor’s degree, and the aver- age annual household income was CAD $117,650. On average, respondents had lived at their current address for between 15 and 19 years, while 59% were born in Ontario. There was a 96% homeown- ership rate, with 88% living in detached homes. Eighty-one percent of respondents indicated that they were of British Isles or European ethnicity. When compared to recent census data (Sta- tistics Canada 2011), the percent of university- educated participants and average household income were higher for survey respondents than the corresponding municipal level, possibly as a result of limiting participants to non-apart- ment dwellers. The number of Ontario-born survey participants reflects the proportion of the municipality born in the province, with the exception of London. However, the accuracy
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