Media, Trust in Government, and Risk Perception of COVID-19 in the Early Stage of Epidemic: An Analysis Based on Moderating Effect

Abstract

Previous research has revealed that environmental, social, and cultural factors affect people’s risk perception of COVID-19, especially the influence of media and trust, while the dynamics of how they affect it is still not clear. Through the analysis of online survey data, this article shows that there are two opposed paths of action. Trust in the government will enhance people’s confidence in controlling COVID-19. It then moderates and decreases the effects of people’s level and frequency of concernon the risk perception (both cognition and worries) of COVID-19, on the contrary, obtaining information from unofficial channels also moderates and increases the effects of the people’s level and frequency of concern on the second dimension (worries) of risk perception of COVID-19 rather than the first dimension (cognition). These conclusions have important policy implications for the control of the COVID-19 epidemic all over the world.