How gay and bisexual men respond to mpox messages through risk- versus identity-based mechanisms: An integrated model

ABSTRACT

To reduce the risk of transmission in the mpox outbreak, it is crucial to provide accurate, tailored, and culturally sensitive risk communication. In an online experiment (N = 372), we tested a theory-informed model on gay and bisexual men’s response to mpox risk communication focusing on the ingroup versus the general population. Gay and bisexual men who received an ingroup-framed risk message had a stronger protective behavioral intention through heightened risk perception. However, this intended effect of risk message framing was negated by an unintended effect through perceived morality threat to sexual identity and defensive processing. These effects further varied depending on participants' level of identification with their sexuality. Findings highlight the importance of considering the social identity implications of risk communication.

KEYWORDS:

• Risk communication
• social identity
• morality threat
• health promotion
• message framing

Notes

1 We also measured competence threat (3 items; e.g., “The message makes me feel that gay and bisexual men are incompetent”), as both competence and morality tap into a group’s values (Branscombe et al., 1999). An independent t test showed that the ingroup and general-framed messages did not differ significantly in competence threat, p = .94.

2 To examine the potential confounding of the minority racial status of individuals depicted, we conducted an ANOVA to test the interaction of participant race (White vs. non-White) and treatment on both ingroup risk perception and perceived morality threat. Neither interaction was statistically significant. We were unable to examine the potential confounding of message vividness because this variable was not measured in the study.