Outcomes of Information Seeking and Avoidance Behaviors: Insights from a German Longitudinal Study.

IF 3.1 2区医学 Q1 COMMUNICATION Journal of Health Communication Pub Date : 2023-10-17 DOI:10.1080/10810730.2023.2268562

Elena Link, Robin Leuppert, Eva Baumann

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Abstract

Examining information behaviors is often justified by their consequences but theoretical models of information behaviors have focused on antecedents of seeking and avoidance rather than their outcomes. Therefore, the current study aims to explore the affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences of information-seeking and avoidance behaviors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a secondary analysis of a four-wave online survey of a sample of German residents (n = 492), we conducted hybrid models allowing us to differentiate between within-person effects of information behaviors on the outcomes and between-person correlations between information behaviors and outcomes. The findings revealed only single and small effects of information behaviors. Cognitive consequences such as risk perceptions were influenced by information seeking, whereas information seeking and avoidance affected individuals' subjective but not their objective level of knowledge. Neither information seeking nor avoidance impacted affective responses or a variety of behavioral consequences. These results contrast with assumptions that information seeking is per se a desirable health outcome, whereas information avoidance might be a barrier to health prevention and pandemic containment. At least in times of a health crisis, the findings suggest that information behavior might not be the central determinant of various affective, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes.

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信息寻求和回避行为的结果：来自德国纵向研究的见解。

研究信息行为通常以其后果为依据，但信息行为的理论模型关注的是寻求和回避的前因，而不是其结果。因此，本研究旨在探索与新冠肺炎大流行相关的信息寻求和回避行为的情感、认知和行为后果。基于对德国居民样本的四波在线调查的二次分析（n = 492），我们进行了混合模型，使我们能够区分信息行为对结果的人内影响以及信息行为和结果之间的人与人之间的相关性。研究结果只揭示了信息行为的单一和微小影响。风险感知等认知后果受到信息寻求的影响，而信息寻求和回避影响个人的主观知识水平，而不是客观知识水平。信息寻求和回避都不会影响情感反应或各种行为后果。这些结果与以下假设形成了对比：寻求信息本身就是一种理想的健康结果，而回避信息可能是健康预防和遏制疫情的障碍。至少在健康危机时期，研究结果表明，信息行为可能不是各种情感、认知和行为结果的核心决定因素。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Health Communication Multiple-

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

4.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives is the leading journal covering the full breadth of a field that focuses on the communication of health information globally. Articles feature research on: • Developments in the field of health communication; • New media, m-health and interactive health communication; • Health Literacy; • Social marketing; • Global Health; • Shared decision making and ethics; • Interpersonal and mass media communication; • Advances in health diplomacy, psychology, government, policy and education; • Government, civil society and multi-stakeholder initiatives; • Public Private partnerships and • Public Health campaigns. Global in scope, the journal seeks to advance a synergistic relationship between research and practical information. With a focus on promoting the health literacy of the individual, caregiver, provider, community, and those in the health policy, the journal presents research, progress in areas of technology and public health, ethics, politics and policy, and the application of health communication principles. The journal is selective with the highest quality social scientific research including qualitative and quantitative studies.