Source of Information on Intentions to Adopt Protective Behaviours During COVID-19 in China

Introduction: COVID-19 spread across China and other countries in a matter of weeks. Yet, it is uncertain how people have responded to protective behaviours in this pandemic. This study aims to evaluate how trust in different types of information sources influences the intention to adopt protective behaviours. Methods: In total, 122 Chinese completed a survey on Qualtrics in March 2021. Data on demographic information, protective behaviours, trust in formal information, trust in informal information, perceived risk, worry and social desirability were collected. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to identify associations between these variables. Results: Trust in formal information was significantly associated with perceived risk (β = −.18) and significantly and positively associated with worry (β = .28). Trust in informal information was significantly and positively associated with perceived risk (β = .57). Subsequently, perceived risk was significantly associated with social distancing (β = −.17), and worry was significantly and positively associated with mask wearing (β = .25) and significantly associated with hand washing (β = −.27). Trust in formal information was significantly and positively associated with hand washing (β = .26) while trust in informal information was significantly and positively associated with social distancing and hand washing (β = .26). Perceived risk was significantly and positively associated with worry (β = .32). Conclusion: People who trust in informal information from social media and interpersonal communication would be more likely to adopt mask wearing and hand washing protective behaviours. People who trust in formal information from government-agency source would have a lower perceived risk of COVID-19 and are less likely to adopt social distancing, but people who trust in formal information have a greater worry about contracting COVID-19 and are more likely to wear masks.