Differential media exposure and perceptions of fear and behavior change in China and Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic

Understanding the media effect on behavioral outcomes is critical during a health crisis. Mechanisms explaining the mediation effect of media induced risk perception on individual fears and preventive behavior adoption rarely attend to the assumptions and methods to make a causal inference, nor to explore how the effect differs by socioeconomic status. We applied a causal framework to estimate how differential media exposure motivates fear and behavioral reaction, and to what extent these effects can be explained by risk susceptibility and risk severity perceptions in Israel and China, and whether the effects are conditional on socioeconomic situation. Our results suggest that media consumptions are explanatory predictors for increased fear and behavior through provoked risk perceptions. Moreover, socioeconomic status is a pronounced moderator in differentiating the media effect. These findings emphasize the media effects in the context of pandemic and have potential implications for media campaign and policy making. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Media & Society is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Media exposure and adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors in Brazil

The purpose of this article is to study the effects of media communication regarding COVID-19 on the adoption of healthy behaviors. Specifically, we investigated the role of fear in the relationship between media exposure and adoption of healthy protective measures while also identifying individual effects for traditional media (TV and newspapers) versus social media. The study was based on a large sample of university students (n = 7554) during April 2020 in Brazil. Results showed that controlling for self-efficacy, age, and gender, total media exposure had greater indirect effect than direct effect on the adoption of healthy behaviors. The indirect effect was through the perception of fear of becoming ill (with COVID-19). We discuss the theoretical implications of the findings. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Media & Society is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The Adoption of Preventive Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China and Israel.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. The rapid transmission rate of the virus, as well as the lack of effective medications and vaccines, has posed serious challenges to controlling the spread of the disease. Dealing with this public health crisis has required major changes in people's behavior, including the adoption of social distancing measures such as avoiding meeting with family members and friends, crowded places, and public transportation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors associated with the adoption of these behaviors in China and Israel. We relied on the 3Cs model that has been used to predict the adoption of a specific preventive behavior (vaccinations) with the goal of testing its applicability to other preventive behaviors such as in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The model indicates that confidence in social institutions, complacency (fear of and assessments about the risk of becoming ill) and constraints (levels of self-efficacy and confidence in being able to engage in the behaviors) are predictors of adopting preventive behaviors. Data were collected in China and Israel through an online survey of the population (n = 1406). We used latent variables and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses derived from the 3Cs model. The findings indicate that there are some differences in the types of preventive behaviors adopted in the two countries. In Israel, higher levels of confidence predicted the adoption of avoidant behaviors and more constraints predicted engaging in fewer avoidant behaviors. In China, more constraints also contributed to the adoption of fewer avoidant behaviors, but people's level of confidence fully mediated this result. The multi-group analysis indicated that the conceptualized model fits the Chinese and Israeli data reasonably well. The findings suggest that the 3Cs model can be generalized from getting vaccinated to adopting avoidant behaviors and that the model can be used across cultures and countries.

Confidence in social institutions, perceived vulnerability and the adoption of recommended protective behaviors in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current worldwide COVID19 pandemic has required the rapid and drastic adoption of social distancing and protective measures as the leading method for reducing the spread of the disease and death. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors associated with the adoption of such measures in a large sample of the Brazilian population. We relied on recreancy theory, which argues that confidence in the ability of social institutions and perceived vulnerability to the disease are central factors predicting the adoption of these behaviors. Our results, drawn from 7554 respondents, indicate that self-confidence in the ability to carry out these behaviors, confidence in the ability of social institutions such as the government, hospitals, health workers and the media to cope with the pandemic crisis, and risk perceptions are associated with the adoption of preventive behaviors. Our results expand the recreancy theory and show that beyond the main effects, the effect of perceived vulnerability depends on the values of self-confidence and confidence in social institutions. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.