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ABSTRACT
In response to increasing concerns about the health risks associated with air pollution, air quality information and behavioural recommendations are more available to the public through risk communication. However, not all people are willing to change their behaviours; even when they do, the level of action varies. This study investigated how empoweredness (self-efficacy, individual response efficacy, collective response efficacy, hope, and values) and trust in government information affect the protective actions citizens take against particulate matter (PM) risk, by expanding on the extended parallel process model (EPPM). We analyzed the case of Seoul, South Korea, where nationwide environmental concern in regard to PM pollution recently led to intense policy measures and public communication efforts. To test our conceptual model, we conducted an online survey with 513 Seoul citizens on their perception of PM risk and their behaviour during high PM episodes. Our regression results revealed two key findings. First, perceived risk, self-efficacy, individual response efficacy, and trust in government information were positively associated with protective behaviours, supporting our hypotheses. Second and more importantly, trust in government information was found to be moderate the effects of self-efficacy, individual response efficacy, collective response efficacy, and hope on protective behaviour against PM pollution. This suggests trust can be a boundary condition that allows an individual’s empoweredness to be fully extended to behavioural change. Our study demonstrates the possibility of expanding EPPM applications in pro-environmental behaviour studies by adding new variables that can be factored into future risk communication.
We explore the effects of empoweredness and trust in government information on protective behaviour against particulate matter in Korea.
Empoweredness is measured by three types of efficacies, hope, and values.
Survey responses are statistically analyzed to capture the associations between variables.
Self-efficacy, values, and trust are positively associated with protective behaviour.
Trust in government moderates some associations between empoweredness and protective action.
HIGHLIGHTS
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Although ambient air pollution exists across the globe, WHO notes stark differences in the intensity of air pollution among nations. The WHO air pollution data portal compares air pollution levels across countries (WHO, n.d.).
2 The term ‘empoweredness’ is used in this study to capture a person’s state of feeling empowered and driven to address an issue. Similar use of the term is found in the literature (e.g., Baber & Bartlett, Citation2021). We regard the term ‘empowerment’ as better for describing the broader internal and external driving forces that enhance one’s agency and authority to deal with an issue.
3 It is important to clarify that, in our study, the level of empoweredness perceived by survey respondents is measured without giving them any external stimulus. Therefore, empoweredness reflects each respondent’s existing self-assessed empoweredness drawn from their personal knowledge or experience.
4 Our survey questions were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KH2021-202).
5 The survey company first sent invitations to randomly selected panelists with consideration of the gender and age profile of the Seoul population, as we requested. The invitees were not told what the survey would be about. If they chose to join the survey, they were asked whether they resided in Seoul so the company could verify their qualifications for the survey. Respondents could drop out of the survey at any time for any reason.