Cross-Country Comparison of Effects of Early Government Communication on Personal Empowerment during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan and the United States
Chingching Chang
Abstract
In uncertain times, perceived empowerment in collective contexts can influence personal empowerment. For example, during a pandemic, such as the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, communication from the government, as long as it is effective, should fuel individual empowerment, through a five-step process. Surveys of the general public, conducted two weeks after the first reported deaths from coronavirus in Taiwan and the United States, provide data for a comparative test of this proposed moderated mediation model. These data confirm that, compared with the United States, the government in Taiwan engaged in more effective communication during these early stages, and exposure to that effective communication triggered the proposed, customized, empowering five-step process among Taiwanese but not among U.S. populations. Among Taiwanese communication recipients (cf. U.S.), the five-step mediation effect is significant, such that exposure to government information → perceived government empowerment → intrapersonal empowerment → preventive behaviors → reduced vulnerability and worry.