Confidence in political leaders can slant risk perceptions of COVID-19 in a highly polarized environment

Soc Sci Med. 2020 Sep:261:113235. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113235. Epub 2020 Jul 23.

Authors

Wanyun Shao¹, Feng Hao²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geography, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA. Electronic address: wshao1@ua.edu.
² Department of Sociology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. Electronic address: fenghao@usf.edu.

Abstract

•
Conservatives show lower risk perceptions of COVID-19 than liberals and moderates.
•
Confidence in political leaders can reduce risk perceptions of COVID-19.
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It also can mediate the effects of political ideology on risk perceptions.
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Attention to news about the outbreak of COVID-19 is positively correlated with risk perceptions.
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Perceived quality of media coverage can lead to heightened risk perceptions of COVID-19.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Attitude to Health*
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Politics*
Risk Assessment
Trust / psychology*
United States / epidemiology
Young Adult