Using the "Media as Mediator" Approach to Understand the Influence of Communication Channel Trust on COVID-19 Protective Behaviors: England, January 2022

In a secondary analysis, we examine how trust in pro-recommendation versus alternative communication channels mediated effects of demographic, personality, lifestyle, and political variables on COVID-19 protective behavior in England. In so doing, we adapt the media-as-mediator approach to the pande...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health communication 2024-10, Vol.29 (10), p.635-643
Main Authors: Slater, Michael D., Coleman, Stephen, Freiberger, Nina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age differences
Alternatives
Behavior
Communication
Community organizations
COVID-19
Friendship
Health promotion
Lifestyles
Mass media
News media
Pandemics
Primary care
Protective factors
Public health
Race
Sensation seeking
Social media
Social networks
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Summary:In a secondary analysis, we examine how trust in pro-recommendation versus alternative communication channels mediated effects of demographic, personality, lifestyle, and political variables on COVID-19 protective behavior in England. In so doing, we adapt the media-as-mediator approach to the pandemic context. Respondents reported that family, close friends, primary care medical providers, and mainstream news media were relatively supportive of public health recommendations, and social media friend networks, faith/community groups, alternative news sites, and alternative health practitioners were relatively unsupportive. Parallel mediation analyses showed that effects of age, dutiful civic-mindedness, sensation-seeking, healthy lifestyle orientation, and more marginally, race on COVID-19 protective behavior were mediated by trust in these pro-recommendation and/or alternative communication channels. In some cases, trust in exemplars of both types of channels resulted in these channels influences largely canceling one another out.
ISSN:1081-0730
1087-0415
1087-0415
DOI:10.1080/10810730.2024.2404912