Intergenerational Information-Sharing Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic in China: From Protective Action Decision Model Perspective

Lingxin Min and Zhiyuan Yu ()
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Lingxin Min: School of Journalism and Communication, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
Zhiyuan Yu: School of Journalism and Communication, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-25

Abstract: Information sharing plays an important role in the study of health communication and contributes to sustainable development goals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, elderly individuals in families could obtain COVID-19-related information via multiple channels. With respect to digital back-feeding, younger generations can share COVID-19 information with their elderly family members via face-to-face communication, video or phone calls, etc. In this paper, we aim to investigate the antecedents of intergenerational information-sharing behavior from young people to their elderly family members. On the basis of the protective-action decision model, we collected 409 valid questionnaires and then constructed a structural equation model. The influencing factors of COVID-19 information-sharing (CIS) behavior are divided into information level, intergenerational level, and motivation level. We found that source credibility, intimacy, response efficacy (RE), and altruism (ALT) have positive effects on CIS behavior. An indirect path exists between information severity, information usefulness, interaction degree, and the CIS through the mediation of RE and the ALT. Information and intergenerational levels could influence RE and ALT. These findings help us understand reciprocal behavior in the family and improve the digital well-being of elderly family members.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; information-sharing behavior; family intergenerational relations; altruism; protective-action decision model; Chinese university students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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