Work

Intergenerational Information-Sharing Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic in China: From Protective Action Decision Model Perspective

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Information sharing plays an important role in the study of health communication and contributes to sustainable development goals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, elderly individuals in families could obtain COVID-19-related information via multiple channels. With respect to digital back-feeding, younger generations can share COVID-19 information with their elderly family members via face-to-face communication, video or phone calls, etc. In this paper, we aim to investigate the antecedents of intergenerational information-sharing behavior from young people to their elderly family members. On the basis of the protective-action decision model, we collected 409 valid questionnaires and then constructed a structural equation model. The influencing factors of COVID-19 information-sharing (CIS) behavior are divided into information level, intergenerational level, and motivation level. We found that source credibility, intimacy, response efficacy (RE), and altruism (ALT) have positive effects on CIS behavior. An indirect path exists between information severity, information usefulness, interaction degree, and the CIS through the mediation of RE and the ALT. Information and intergenerational levels could influence RE and ALT. These findings help us understand reciprocal behavior in the family and improve the digital well-being of elderly family members.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su17167263

Authors: Lingxin Min, Zhiyuan Yu

Institution: Shandong University

Language: English

Topic: Communication and COVID-19 Impact

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896