Exploring the roles of fear and powerlessness in the relationship between perceived risk of the COVID-19 pandemic and information-avoidance behavior

The COVID-19 has seriously impacted various aspects of the society on a global scale. However, it is still unclear how perceived risk influences epidemic information-avoidance behavior which generally helps us understand public information avoidance. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the perceived epidemic risk and information-avoidance behavior and the mediating role of fear and powerlessness during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. A total of 557 Chinese respondents with COVID-19 treated in modular hospitals ranging from 16 to 72 years old were recruited and completed questionnaires in the face-to-face manner containing scales of the perceived epidemic risk of COVID-19, fear, powerlessness, and information-avoidance behavior. To test the conceptual model, we adopted structural equation modeling (SEM) with the perceived risk of the COVID-19 pandemic as a predictor, fear and powerlessness as mediating variables, and information-avoidance behavior as the outcome. The results indicated a significant and positive association between the perceived epidemic risk of COVID-19 and information-avoidance behavior. Powerlessness acted as the mediator between the perceived epidemic risk of COVID-19 and information-avoidance behavior. The perceived epidemic risk of COVID-19 influenced information-avoidance behavior through fear and powerlessness in turn. Findings from this study implied that public health managers should consider the mediating roles of negative emotions such as fear and powerlessness for coping with behaviors in public health emergencies, especially the information avoidance behaviors related to risk perception.