The Role of Media Use and Emotions in Risk Perception and Preventive Behaviors Related to COVID-19 in South Korea

Abstract

The relationship between compliance with behaviors recommended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and media exposure, negative emotions, and risk perception was examined using regression analyses of data from KAMOS, a nationally representative survey of South Korean adults. The strongest predictor of preventive behaviors in general was negative emotions, which had the largest *βh* (.22) among the independent variables considered. The eight negative emotions, identified using factor analysis of a series of 11 emotions, were anger, annoyance, fear, sadness, anxiety, insomnia, helplessness, and stress. Negative emotions themselves were influenced most strongly by the respondent’s anxiety over social safety (*βf*=.286), followed by prediction of COVID-19 spread (*β*=.121, *p*<.001) and perceived risk of COVID-19 infection (*β*=.70, p=.023). Females (*β*=-.134) and those who felt less healthy (*βo*=-.097) experienced more negative emotions. Media exposure and increased media exposure both have significant relationships with negative emotions and both a direct and indirect impact on the adoption of preventive measures. Women, older people, and healthier people perceived greater risks and engaged in more preventive behaviors than their counterparts.