AUTHOR=Evensen Darrick , Warren George , Bouder Frederic 

TITLE=Satisfaction With Governmental Risk Communication Both Increases and Decreases COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviours

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 68 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2023.1604966

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2023.1604966

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Over two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and intense societal and governmental response, a wealth of research has examined risk perceptions and public risk mitigation behaviours.  The vast majority of this inquiry has focused on health risks.  Nevertheless, as a ‘total social fact’ influencing nearly every aspect of quotidian life, the pandemic engenders a wide range of risk perceptions.  Via a survey (N=4,206) of representative samples of the general public in five European countries (Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK), we explore perceptions of a range of personal/public health, economic, and societal risks.  We also investigate the effects of perceptions of official governmental risk communication in one’s country on risk perceptions and risk mitigation behaviours.  Structural equation modelling reveals that whilst perceptions of effective risk communication directly increase frequency of behaviours that mitigate COVID-19 health risks, these same perceptions indirectly decrease behaviour frequency via a mediated relationship with societal risk perceptions.  This finding highlights the import of governmental authorities analysing and communicating about the range of risk perceptions citizens might have about a ‘total social fact’ such as COVID-19.