Abstract
Given that risk beliefs predict engagement in behaviors to prevent disease, it is important to understand the factors associated with risk beliefs. In the present paper, we conducted path analyses to investigate the associations of belief systems (political orientation and cultural worldviews of individualism and hierarchy) with COVID-19 risk beliefs (i.e., perceived likelihood, perceived severity, and worry about disease; Studies 1 and 2), and the indirect effect through trust in information sources in these relationships (Study 1). Two online panels of U.S. adults were surveyed at three timepoints during the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 1: baseline n = 1,667, 1-year follow-up n = 551; Study 2: n = 404). Results of path analyses indicated that, across studies and timepoints, when controlling for political orientation, trust, and demographic factors, greater individualism had consistent significant direct effects on lower perceived severity and worry about COVID-19, whereas greater hierarchy had consistent significant direct effects on lower perceived severity. However, after accounting for cultural worldviews of individualism and hierarchy (and trust and demographic factors), none of the associations among political orientation and any of the three COVID-19 risk beliefs were significant. The test of indirect effects indicated that individualism and hierarchy were indirectly associated with lower perceived severity of and worry about COVID-19 through less trust. The findings suggest that cultural worldviews of individualism and hierarchy play a role in shaping people's risk beliefs.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Journal | Social and Personality Psychology Compass |
DOIs | |
State | Accepted/In press - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The research was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences Grant #R305U200004 to C. A. Thompson at Kent State University and by the Applied Psychology Center in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Social and Personality Psychology Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Keywords
- COVID-19
- cultural worldviews
- hierarchy
- individualism
- political orientation
- risk beliefs
- risk perception
- trust
- worry
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology