Cross-Country Comparison of Effects of Early Government Communication on Personal Empowerment during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan and the United States

ABSTRACT

In uncertain times, perceived empowerment in collective contexts can influence personal empowerment. For example, during a pandemic, such as the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, communication from the government, as long as it is effective, should fuel individual empowerment, through a five-step process. Surveys of the general public, conducted two weeks after the first reported deaths from coronavirus in Taiwan and the United States, provide data for a comparative test of this proposed moderated mediation model. These data confirm that, compared with the United States, the government in Taiwan engaged in more effective communication during these early stages, and exposure to that effective communication triggered the proposed, customized, empowering five-step process among Taiwanese but not among U.S. populations. Among Taiwanese communication recipients (cf. U.S.), the five-step mediation effect is significant, such that exposure to government information → perceived government empowerment → intrapersonal empowerment → preventive behaviors → reduced vulnerability and worry.

Notes

1. These rates are derived from statistics reported by Worldmeter (n.d.), COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?utm_campaign=homeAdvegas1?

2. Information about the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Taiwan is based on the Wikipedia entry, “2020 coronavirus pandemic in Taiwan,” retrieved April 27, 2020, (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Taiwan&oldid=953376470), and verified by the authors with other media sources.

3. Information about 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States is based on the Wikipedia entry, “2020 coronavirus pandemic in the US,” retrieved on April 27, 2020 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_the_United_States), and verified by the authors with other media sources.

4. See Lipton, E., Sanger, D. E., Haberman, M., Shear, M. D., Mazzetti, M., & Barnes, J. E. (2020, April 11). He could have seen what was coming: Behind Trump’s failure on the virus. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html

5. See Lin, H. J. (2020, April 11). 83 days after the COVID-19 pandemic hits Taiwan: Perspectives from experts on changes and directions in mitigation strategies. The Reporter. Retrieved from https://www.twreporter.org/a/covid-19-taiwan-epidemic-prevention-policies-change

6. Factbase. (n.d.). President Donald Trump – Public schedule calendar. Retrieved from https://factba.se/topic/calendar

7. Fact Check on CNN (https://edition.cnn.com/specials/politics/fact-check-politics) has details of Trump’s false claims about the coronavirus pandemic.

8. According to Liberty Times, March 27, 2020.

9. According to RealClear Politics. (n.d.). Public Approval of President Trump’s Handling of the Coronavirus. Retrieved from https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/public_approval_of_president_trumps_handling_of_the_coronavirus-7088.html

10. See Gomez, M., & Halper, E. (2020, February 28). Democratic candidates tell Trump, ‘do your damn job’ on coronavirus outbreak. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-02-28/democratic-candidates-criticize-trump-coronavirus-response

11. Distributions of the Taiwanese sample do not differ significantly from that of the population in terms of gender (χ² =.44 < χ²_.95(1) = 3.84, p =.51), age (χ² = 4.85 < χ²_.95(10) = 18.31, p =.90), or region (χ² =.38 < χ²_.95(21) = 32.67, p =.99). After weighting, the distributions are even closer to those of the population in terms of gender (χ² =.01 < χ²_.95(1) = 3.84, p =.98), age (χ² =.01 < χ²_.95(10) = 18.31, p =.99), and region (χ² =.21 < χ²_.95(21) = 32.67, p =.99).

12. The weighting formula is$W_r=\frac{N_i}{N}\times \frac{n}{n_i}$, where N indicates population size, n indicates the completed case, N_i is the number of persons in the specified category, and n_i refers to the number of completed surveys in that category.

13. There were 1,211 completed surveys but only 1,055 passed the attention checks. Of those, 13 were not U.S. nationals, and 2 did not reside in the United States. Thus, the final sample included 1,040 participants.

14. Distributions of the U.S. sample do not differ from the population in terms of gender (χ² =.11 < χ²_.95(1) = 3.84, p =.74) but differ significantly in age (χ² = 380.19 > χ²_.95(10) = 18.31, p <.01) and region (χ² = 22.07 > χ²_.95(8) = 15.51, p =.01). After weighting, the distributions are close: gender (χ² =.01 < χ²_.95(1) = 3.84, p =.99), age (χ² =.01 < χ²_.95(10) = 18.31, p =.99), and region (χ² =.01 < χ²_.95(8) = 15.51, p =.99).

15. States were categorized into nine categories: (1) New England, with Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; (2) Middle Atlantic, with New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; (3) East North Central, with Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; (4) West North Central, with Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; (5) South Atlantic, with Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; (6) East South Central, with Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; (7) West South Central with Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; (8) Mountain, with Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and (9) Pacific, with Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

16. The revised weights were derived by multiplying the original weights in the Taiwan survey by n_t/(n_t+n_u) and the original weights in the U.S. survey by n_u/(n_t+n_u), where n_u is the sample size in Taiwan and n_u is the sample size in the United States.

17. New York State Government. (n.d.). Past coronavirus briefings. Retrieved from https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/past-coronavirus-briefings

18. According to NBC New York, March 30, 2020.

19. According to Siena College Research Institute. (2020, April 27). Coronavirus Pandemic Pushes Cuomo to Record High Ratings; Voters Trust Cuomo over Trump on NY Reopening 78–16%. Retrieved from https://scri.siena.edu/2020/04/27/coronavirus-pandemic-pushes-cuomo-to-record-high-ratings-voters-trust-cuomo-over-trump-on-ny-reopening-78-16/

20. According to CDC [@CDCgov]. (2020, February 28). CDC does not currently recommend the use of facemasks to help prevent novel #coronavirus. Take everyday preventive actions, like staying home when you are sick and washing hands with soap and water, to help slow the spread of respiratory illness. #COVID19 https://bit.ly/37Ay6Cm [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/CDCgov/status/1233134710638825473

21. See Marcetic, B. (2020, April 26, 2^nd paragraph). The US political system is to blame for this pandemic. Jacobin. Retrieved from https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/bipartisanship-pandemic-coronavirus-donald-trump-democrats-republicans

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan [106-2511-S-004 −004 -MY3].