ABSTRACT
How did residents in Wuhan, who were at the epicenter of the initial COVID-19 outbreaks in China evaluate the risk to themselves and to society at large, and take action accordingly? This study examines the need for orientation, cognitive reasoning of COVID-19 news, and perceived risk, which all contributed to protective action during the city’s total lockdown. Using data collected in a mobile CATI survey during the peak of the outbreaks in February 2020, findings show that the attention to COVID-19 in digital media predicted the perception of the coronavirus pandemic as a personal risk. In addition, the need for orientation and elaboration of news about the outbreaks were positively associated with perceived risk target – personal and societal. Finally, perceived personal risk proved a stronger predictor than perceived risk to society in general for taking protective behavior.
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Zongya Li
Zongya Li (Ph.D. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2019) is a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Journalism and Information Communication, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Her research interests include health communication, environmental communication, and media effects.
Ran Wei
Ran Wei (Ph.D. Indiana University, 1995) is professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. His research interests and publications include media effects, communication technology and mobile communication.
Ven-hwei Lo
Ven-hwei Lo (Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1985) is a visiting professor in the Department of Journalism, School of Communication, at Hong Kong Baptist University. His research interests include news media performance and media effects.
Mingxin Zhang
Mingxin Zhang (Ph.D., Wuhan University, 2009) is a Professor in the School of Journalism and Information Communication at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on new media studies, political communication, and national strategic communication.
Yicheng Zhu
Yicheng Zhu (Ph.D., University of South Carolina, 2018) is a lecturer at School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University. His research focuses on new media communications.