The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.

Risk perception research, targeting the general public, necessitates the study of the multi-faceted aspects of perceived risk through a holistic approach. This study aimed to investigate the association between the two dimensions of risk perception of COVID-19, i.e., risk as a feeling and analysis,...

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Main Authors: Yo Han Lee, Hyun-Hee Heo, Hyerim Noh, Deok Hyun Jang, Young-Geun Choi, Won Mo Jang, Jin Yong Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280779
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author Yo Han Lee
Hyun-Hee Heo
Hyerim Noh
Deok Hyun Jang
Young-Geun Choi
Won Mo Jang
Jin Yong Lee
author_facet Yo Han Lee
Hyun-Hee Heo
Hyerim Noh
Deok Hyun Jang
Young-Geun Choi
Won Mo Jang
Jin Yong Lee
author_sort Yo Han Lee
collection DOAJ
description Risk perception research, targeting the general public, necessitates the study of the multi-faceted aspects of perceived risk through a holistic approach. This study aimed to investigate the association between the two dimensions of risk perception of COVID-19, i.e., risk as a feeling and analysis, trust in the current government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors in South Korea. This study used a year-long repeated cross-sectional design, in which a national sample (n = 23,018) participated in 23 consecutive telephone surveys from February 2020 to February 2021. Most factors differed in the magnitude and direction of their relationships with the two dimensions of risk perception. However, trust in the current government, alone, delineated an association in the same direction for both dimensions, i.e., those with a lower level of trust exhibited higher levels of cognitive and affective risk perception. Although these results did not change significantly during the one-year observation period, they are related to the political interpretation of risk. This study revealed that affective and cognitive risk perceptions addressed different dimensions of risk perception. These findings could help governments and health authorities better understand the nature and mechanisms of public risk perception when implementing countermeasures and policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies.
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spelling doaj-art-7d54a5e33d40442d80892a876379e73b2024-12-05T05:31:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01186e028077910.1371/journal.pone.0280779The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.Yo Han LeeHyun-Hee HeoHyerim NohDeok Hyun JangYoung-Geun ChoiWon Mo JangJin Yong LeeRisk perception research, targeting the general public, necessitates the study of the multi-faceted aspects of perceived risk through a holistic approach. This study aimed to investigate the association between the two dimensions of risk perception of COVID-19, i.e., risk as a feeling and analysis, trust in the current government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors in South Korea. This study used a year-long repeated cross-sectional design, in which a national sample (n = 23,018) participated in 23 consecutive telephone surveys from February 2020 to February 2021. Most factors differed in the magnitude and direction of their relationships with the two dimensions of risk perception. However, trust in the current government, alone, delineated an association in the same direction for both dimensions, i.e., those with a lower level of trust exhibited higher levels of cognitive and affective risk perception. Although these results did not change significantly during the one-year observation period, they are related to the political interpretation of risk. This study revealed that affective and cognitive risk perceptions addressed different dimensions of risk perception. These findings could help governments and health authorities better understand the nature and mechanisms of public risk perception when implementing countermeasures and policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280779
spellingShingle Yo Han Lee
Hyun-Hee Heo
Hyerim Noh
Deok Hyun Jang
Young-Geun Choi
Won Mo Jang
Jin Yong Lee
The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.
PLoS ONE
title The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.
title_full The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.
title_fullStr The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.
title_full_unstemmed The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.
title_short The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.
title_sort association between the risk perceptions of covid 19 trust in the government political ideologies and socio demographic factors a year long cross sectional study in south korea
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280779
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