Modeling COVID-19 Preventive Behavior: Impact of Neighborhood Characteristics,Cognitive Appraisals,and Information Use

Abstract

With bases in the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM), Protection Motivation Theory, and the Extended Parallel Process Model, this study builds a multilevel model including neighborhood risk factors, cognitive appraisals, and media information use with research hypotheses and questions developed at the individual, community, and cross levels. The research expectations are tested with 2020 individual-level survey data (N = 995) and 2019 and 2020 neighborhood-level data (N = 41) in New York City. In the context of COVID-19, multilevel modeling documented that the bulk of variance in the outcome variables was at the individual level. At the individual level, perceived efficacy, as well as its interaction with perceived threat, significantly predicted preventive behaviors, information scanning was significantly associated with perceived efficacy and threat, and information seeking was significantly associated with efficacy. At the community level, poverty rate was significantly associated with perceived efficacy and threat and preventive behaviors. At the cross level, community-level risk factors (e.g., poverty rate, crime rate) significantly moderated the effects of individual-level factors (i.e., perceived efficacy and information scanning) on preventive behaviors, which are indicative of the interdependence of factors at different levels in the SEM.