Linking Health Consciousness and Social Media Information Seeking to College Students COVID-19 Prevention Behavior: Examining a Modified IMBP Model

Abstract

Health consciousness and health information seeking have been conceptually and empirically linked. Few studies, however, have explored the implications this relationship has for driving specific health perceptions and behaviors. In a modified test of the integrated model of behavioral prediction (IMBP) we examine these two factors as health motivators helping explain COVID-19 judgements and prevention behaviors. Simple mediation tests show social media information seeking operating as a modest intervening factor between health consciousness and COVID-19 attitudes and perceived behavior control (PBC); however, health consciousness remains a robust, direct predictor of attitudes, PBC, and subjective norms. Finally, tests of the modified IMBP highlight norms, attitudes, and PBC mediating the relationship between both health consciousness and social media information seeking on COVID-19 prevention behaviors.