Special Issue Article
War Against COVID-19: How Is National Identification Linked With the Adoption of Disease-Preventive Behaviors in China and the United States?
Hoi-Wing Chan,
Xue Wang,
Shi-Jiang Zuo,
Connie Pui-Yee Chiu,
Li Liu,
Daphne W. Yiu,
Ying-yi Hong,
Corresponding Author
Hoi-Wing Chan
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hoi-Wing Chan and Ying-yi Hong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
E-mail: [email protected] (H.-W. C.) and [email protected] (Y.-y. H.)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Ying-yi Hong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hoi-Wing Chan and Ying-yi Hong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
E-mail: [email protected] (H.-W. C.) and [email protected] (Y.-y. H.)
Search for more papers by this author
Hoi-Wing Chan,
Xue Wang,
Shi-Jiang Zuo,
Connie Pui-Yee Chiu,
Li Liu,
Daphne W. Yiu,
Ying-yi Hong,
Corresponding Author
Hoi-Wing Chan
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hoi-Wing Chan and Ying-yi Hong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
E-mail: [email protected] (H.-W. C.) and [email protected] (Y.-y. H.)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Ying-yi Hong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hoi-Wing Chan and Ying-yi Hong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
E-mail: [email protected] (H.-W. C.) and [email protected] (Y.-y. H.)
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic requires large numbers of citizens to adopt disease-preventive practices. We contend that national identification can mobilize and motivate people to engage in preventive behaviors to protect the collective, which in return would heighten national identification further. To test these reciprocal links, we conducted studies in two countries with diverse national tactics toward curbing the pandemic: (1) a two-wave longitudinal survey in China (Study 1, N = 1200), where a national goal to fight COVID-19 was clearly set, and (2) a five-wave longitudinal survey in the United States (Study 2, N = 1001), where the national leader, President Trump, rejected the severity of COVID-19 in its early stage. Results revealed that national identification was associated with an increase in disease-preventive behaviors in both countries in general. However, higher national identification was associated with greater trust in Trump's administration among politically conservative American participants, which then was associated with slower adoption of preventive behaviors. The reciprocal effect of disease-preventive behaviors on national identification was observed only in China. Overall, our findings suggest that although national identification may serve as a protective factor in curbing the pandemic, this beneficial effect was reduced in some political contexts.
Highlights
- Policymakers should note that national identity serves as a protective factor in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. Narratives that highlight the collective agency of people would be useful in promoting disease-preventive actions as long as they are also endorsed by national leaders.
- National leaders should provide clear and consistent recommendations in promoting disease-preventive actions.
- Practitioners and policymakers should be aware of how the communication strategies they use would be affected by society’s political contexts. Mobilizing disease-preventive actions through a patriotic frame might not be useful when national leaders did not unambiguously promote disease prevention.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| pops12752-sup-0001-Appendix.docxWord document, 69.1 KB | Appendix S1. Scale Items for Key Variables Appendix S2. Attrition Analysis of Study 1 Table S2.1. Mean-level Comparison of Time 1 Variables (Study 1) Table S2.2. Estimates of Multiple Regression Analysis with Time 1 Disease-Preventive Behavior as the Outcome Variable Table S2.3. Estimates of Multiple Regression Analysis with Time 1 National Identification as the Outcome Variable Appendix S3. Attrition Analysis of Study 2 Table S3.4. Mean-level Comparison between Participants who Dropped-out vs. Completed All Five Surveys Table S3.5. Demographic Information of Participants Retained at Each Time-point Appendix S4. Supplementary Analysis Table S4.6. Parameter Estimates of the Latent Growth Model of Disease-Preventive Behavior Table S4.7. Parameter Estimates of the Latent Growth Model of National Identification Table S4.8. Parameter Estimates of the Multivariate Latent Growth Model |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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