Other important variables include believing one is capable of acting to effectively mitigate risk, holding oneself responsible for one's welfare, and feeling sentimental attachment to a vulnerable community or place (Paton 2003).
"I consider myself an animal welfare activist; my feeling about these animal rights people is that they don't want to hear about the compassionate side of me," he says.
You might imagine at this stage that Iain the welfare secretary is feeling pretty hard-pressed.
It appears that increasing the cooling frequency from 5 to 8 times per day improved their feeling of welfare, so they could spend more time lying and ruminating.
He has installed extra air-conditioning units, improved lighting in the darker corners of the club, employed on-site medics and introduced a welfare area where anyone feeling unwell after taking drugs can seek advice without having to worry about being arrested.
"Every time it came up, I would steer the conversation back to welfare, but I began feeling that maybe I was doing the wrong story". In 1983, he moved to The Atlantic, in part because editors there agreed to allow him to pursue the story of the great black migration from South to North and its impact on the development of black ghettos in urban America.
"You can see how long the cows are lying down, you can see how many hours the cow sleeps, how long the cow is walking round, and it tells me a little bit how the cow is feeling, its welfare," he says.
And worrying about their welfare can exacerbate the feelings of loneliness and loss.
We can't accuse the Conservatives of being secretive about their plans for the welfare state, or their feelings about the people who rely on it.
People who score well on this survey express a heightened concern for the welfare of others, greater feelings of social responsibility, and a commitment to moral values and they also prove more likely to help others when an opportunity arises.
