How Do Environmental News and theUnder the DomeDocumentary Influence Air-Pollution Knowledge and Risk Perception Among Beijing Residents?

Yixin Chen,Xinchuan Liu

doi:10.1177/21582440211015712

Abstract

To examine Beijing residents’ risk perception of contracting smog-related diseases, we proposed a model in which air-pollution knowledge is a theoretical mechanism accounting for the influence on risk perception of exposure to environmental news and exposure to Under the Dome, an environmental documentary about smog in China, which has been censored. Data ( N = 523) were collected from Beijing residents from February to March in 2017. We analyzed the data using Hayes’ PROCESS macro. Findings revealed that environmental-news exposure is positively associated with both air-pollution knowledge and risk perception. Exposure to environmental news has an indirect effect on risk perception through air-pollution knowledge. Exposure to Under the Dome is positively related to risk perception but is not related to air-pollution knowledge. We contributed to the literature by empirically testing the impact of Under the Dome, which has been largely studied via the critical theory approach. Implications included that Under the Dome is a successful risk communication model and that its impact goes beyond increasing public risk perception of smog.

Highlights

In recent years, severe smog has become a major threat to public health in many large cities in China, including Beijing (Berlinger et al, 2017), and “one of the most urgent issues on China’s public agenda” (S. Chen, 2018, p. 1)
To examine Beijing residents’ risk perception of contracting smog-related diseases, we proposed a conceptual model in which air-pollution knowledge is a theoretical mechanism accounting for the influence of environmental-media exposure on risk perception
Analyses of our sample (N = 523) provided partial support for the proposed model: Exposure to environmental news is positively associated with both air-pollution knowledge and risk perception; exposure to environmental news has an indirect effect on risk perception through air-pollution knowledge; exposure to Under the Dome is not related to knowledge but is positively related to risk perception

Summary

Introduction

Severe smog has become a major threat to public health in many large cities in China, including Beijing (Berlinger et al, 2017), and “one of the most urgent issues on China’s public agenda” (S. Chen, 2018, p. 1). While residents in China may count on the Chinese government for implementing policies and regulations to reduce the smog, they can engage in protective behaviors on their own to alleviate the health threat that it represents. Under the Dome is a multimedia documentary about smog in China produced by Chai Jing, a well-known former newscaster for. No scientific study has empirically examined the potential impacts of environmental-news exposure, as well as Under the Dome exposure, on Chinese people’s airpollution knowledge and risk perception of smog, which are important constructs predicting protective responses to environmental threats (Shi et al, 2016; Wu & Li, 2017). The second is to examine whether air-pollution knowledge serves as a mechanism linking environmental-news exposure or Under the Dome exposure to risk perception. We first review social cognitive theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework for this study; we discuss empirical findings related to mass media exposure, knowledge, and risk perception; we propose a theoretical model to guide our data collection

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion