How Trust in Information Sources Influences Preventative Measures Compliance during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sherry A. Maykrantz, Tao Gong, Ashley V. Petrolino, Brandye D. Nobiling and Jeffery D. Houghton
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Sherry A. Maykrantz: School of Health Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
Tao Gong: Department of Social Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD 21853, USA
Ashley V. Petrolino: School of Health Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
Brandye D. Nobiling: School of Health Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
Jeffery D. Houghton: Department of Management, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: This paper explores how trust in formal information sources (government and media) and informal information sources (interpersonal) about COVID-19 influences compliance with preventive measures. This cross-sectional study uses convenience sampling of 478 adult participants. Data analyses using structural equation modeling with multigroup comparisons examine hypothesized relationships between trust in information sources and preventative behaviors and social distancing. Results suggest that understanding of COVID-19 causes is related to trust in formal information sources, but not to trust in informal information. Self-efficacy for prevention is related to trust in informal information sources, but not to trust in formal information sources. Worry about contracting COVID-19 is related to trust in formal information sources, but not to informal ones. Engaging in preventive measures is linked to both self-efficacy for prevention and worry, while social distancing was related only to worry. These findings have important implications for public health policy guidelines centered on clear and truthful media messages. The findings also facilitate comparative analyses of reactions to information sources across a decade of evolving attitudes toward media and government, between two cultures (Hong Kong vs. the USA), and between two different global pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; trust; information sources; self-efficacy; perceived susceptibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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