Explaining Chinese Reactions to COVID-19 During the Outbreak: A Systematic Illustration

Objective: This research attempts to explore systematically factors that influence public reactions during COVID-19 pandemic, including different measures of risk perceptions, public trust in different levels of governments, and attention to news. Methods: This research uses a national stratified random sample of Chinese population and multiple linear regressions to explore the potential predictors of public reactions to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Results: This research found that the effects of attentions to news, provincial experience, trust in government, demographics, and political cultures on risk perceptions depend on measures of risk perceptions, risk judgments vs. cognitive vs. affective risk perceptions. Moreover, the effect of culture on trust in government is consistent across different levels of government, trust in local, provincial, and central governments; living in the epicenter of COVID-19 in China decreases trust in local/provincial government but not trust in central government; public attention to news can bring both positive (trust in government) and negative (negative affect) outcomes. Finally, it confirmed positive associations among risk perception, subjective knowledge, and attention to news. Conclusion: The findings suggest challenges for risk communication.