Risk Perception and Preventive Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic : Testing the Effects of Government Trust and Information Behaviors

Jeong, Jae-Seon; Kim, Soo Yun

doi:10.1080/10410236.2023.2166698

Cited by 27Communication and COVID-19 ImpactRisk Perception and ManagementCOVID-19 Prevention and Impact

Risk Perception and Preventive Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic : Testing the Effects of Government Trust and Information Behaviors

Jeong, Jae-Seon, Kim, Soo Yun·2024·Health Communication

DOI 10.1080/10410236.2023.2166698

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Abstract

Given the absence of COVID-19 treatments, the best way to control the spread of the virus is to break the chain of infection by increasing public participation in preventive behaviors recommended by health authorities. This study proposes a moderated mediation model of information behaviors (e.g. information seeking and information verification) and trust in government that explores the relationship between risk perception and preventive behaviors regarding COVID-19. Using a survey study in South Korea, we conducted the moderated mediation analysis with latent moderated structural equation modeling (LMS). We found serial mediation effects for risk perception, information behaviors, and preventive behaviors, as people both seek out information and verify that information before adopting preventive behaviors. Additionally, trust in government moderated information behaviors in the relationship between risk perception and preventive behaviors, suggesting that trust in government encourages people to adopt more preventive actions via information seeking and information verification. Further implications are discussed to promote public understanding of the health crisis and public participation in preventive measures.

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Risk perceptions have been identified as a critical motivator of information verification.
“Risk perceptions, in particular, have been identified as a critical motivator.”
From Bridging risk and retention: risk coping with privacy and hallucination in AI (2026) · cites this paper as Jeong and Kim 2024
Jeong and Kim (2024) found that high-risk perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased information verification, which subsequently influenced preventive health behaviors.
“Jeong and Kim (2024), for instance, found that high-risk perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased information verification, which subsequently influenced preventive health behaviors.”
From Bridging risk and retention: risk coping with privacy and hallucination in AI (2026) · cites this paper as Jeong and Kim 2024

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“In addition, several studies have discussed how sharing or forwarding unverified information online can exacerbate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (Van Bavel et al., 2020).”
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“Researchers primarily focus on risk events manifested through natural disasters (such as earthquakes and tsunamis) and diseases (Jeong & Kim, 2024), examining the interplay among media, government, and individuals in physical disaster contexts, as well as risk warning measures in online ecological…”
The key role of risk perception in preparedness for oil pipeline accidents in urban areas: A sequential mediation analysis
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Information-Seeking and Risk Perception to Explain Infection-Prevention Behaviors: Conditional Analysis on Trust in Media and Government as Moderator
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COVID-19: An examination of public health information, trust, and COVID-19 prevention behaviors (Preprint)Preprint
Tetteh, E. K., Combs, T., Geng, E. H., & McKay, V. (2022) · doi:10.2196/preprints.37846
건강신념모델에서 정부신뢰가 COVID-19 예방의도에 미치는 영향
김수연, 노혜영, & 엄요한 (2020) · 의료경영학연구
Public Health Information Seeking, Trust, and COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors: Cross-sectional Study
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Authors: Jeong, J.-S., & Kim, S. Y.
Affiliations: University of Oklahoma (US)
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (US)
Corresponding author: Kim, Soo Yun
ORCID: Kim, Soo Yun
Venue: Health Communication
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 2023-01-17
Volume: 39
Issue: 2
Pages: 376-387
ISSN: 1041-0236 (ISSN-L)
1532-7027
DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2023.2166698
OpenAlex: W4317360180
Cited by: 27
References: 74
Citations by year: 2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5
FWCI: 12.74
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Health Communication (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
ScholarWorks @ UTRGV (The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) (submittedVersion)
Funders: no funding associated with the work featured in this article
Topics: Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Risk Perception and Management
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › COVID-19 Prevention and Impact
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, risk perception, preventive behavior, public trust in government, information seeking, fact-checking, health information behavior, citizen participation, pandemic response, South Korea
MeSH terms: COVID-19, Government, Humans, Perception, Surveys and Questionnaires, Trust, Pandemics

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Risk Perception and Preventive Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic : Testing the Effects of Government Trust and Information Behaviors

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