Communicating uncertainties regarding COVID-19 vaccination: Moderating roles of trust in science, government, and society.

This study examined how uncertainty affects information seeking and avoidance behaviors via information insufficiency in the COVID-19 vaccination context. It also investigated how trust in science, government, and society moderate the effects of information insufficiency. An online experiment with 131 Korean adults showed that uncertainty indirectly affects information seeking intentions via information insufficiency, which is moderated by science trust and governmental trust. It also showed that uncertainty indirectly affects information avoidance intentions via information insufficiency, which is moderated by social trust.

Norm Perceptions about Rumor Sharing on Genetically Modified Foods: The Interaction between Facebook Likes and a Refuting Comment.

This study investigated how normative information on Facebook (i.e., the number of Likes on a Facebook post and a refuting comment) influences one's intention to share a rumor post regarding genetically modified foods. The results of an online experiment with 630 Facebook users showed that a high number of Likes increased the intention to share the post through perceived descriptive and injunctive norms of sharing behavior. The number of Likes on the post and a refuting comment interacted to influence perceived injunctive norms about rumor sharing. A comment stating that the post is a rumor increased injunctive norm perceptions about rumor sharing when the number of Likes on the post is low.

Gain-Loss Framing and Social Distancing: Temporal Framing's Role as an Emotion Intensifier.

Effective health communication requires various strategies. This study focused on two framing strategies closely relevant to health issues. Specifically, it examined how temporal framing moderates the effects of gain-loss framing on social distancing with particular attention to the underlying affective mechanisms of these interactions. A 2 (temporal framing: proximal vs. distal) X 2 (gain-loss framing: gain vs. loss) randomized experiment was conducted with 114 undergraduate students in Korea. The results showed that loss-framing was more effective than gain-framing when presented in temporally proximal frames, but such differences diminished when presented in temporally distal frames. The interaction effects of temporal framing and gain-loss framing had indirect effects on attitudes via fear and anger. They also had an indirect effect on intentions via fear. This study's results enhance our understanding of framing effects by testing the interaction effects between two types of framing in the context of social distancing and clarifying affective mediating processes through which framing exerts its effects. These findings have practical implications for designing effective health messages.

Public Perceptions of Food Contamination Risks: A Simulation Experiment on the Psychological Impact of Incident Severity and Intentionality.

How do consumers perceive risks associated with food contamination? How do they respond to foodborne illness outbreaks and food recalls resulting from food contamination? We report findings from an experiment (N = 1,010) in which participants were exposed to a simulated news report on a food contamination incident that had led to a foodborne illness outbreak and voluntary food recalls. Two characteristics of the food contamination incident were experimentally manipulated - severity (i.e., how serious the consequences of the incident were) and intentionality (i.e., whether the incident was caused by an accident or an intentional act to harm). We found that higher severity generally led to higher risk perceptions and risk-reduction intentions. A contamination incident attributed to an intentional act to harm, as opposed to an accident, caused greater intentions to temporarily reduce consumption of the contaminated food and to seek out more information, but only when incident severity was relatively low. Implications of these findings for effectively communicating food contamination risks are discussed.

How Family-Supportive Leadership Communication Enhances the Creativity of Work-From-Home Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Adapting to the remote working environment has been one of the most visible challenges for many organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. As employee creativity helps organizations' survival and resilience during times of crisis, this study aims to examine the role of leadership communication, family-supportive leadership communication in particular, in fostering creativity among work-from-home employees. The current study specifically focuses on the mediating processes in this relationship and the moderating role of employees' work-life segmentation preferences, using a survey of 449 employees who have worked from home during the COVID-19 outbreak. The results showed that employee-organization relationship (EOR) quality, positive affect, and work-life enrichment mediate the relationship between family-supportive leadership communication and employee creativity. The effects of family-supportive leadership communication on employees' positive affect and work-life enrichment were more prominent for those who prefer to segment their work and lives. This paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for leadership in organizational communication.

Distorted time perception in patients with transient global amnesia: time perception task and imaging analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Transient global amnesia (TGA) is defined as a sudden and transient episode of memory loss and accompanied by temporal disorientation. However, the mechanism by which time distortion occurs is not clearly elucidated yet. METHODS: Between March 2019 and November 2020, we subjected 30 TGA patients to several time perception tasks and analyzed their magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans and compared the results with age- and sex-matched control group. RESULTS: Among the 60 recruited subjects (64.5 ± 6.3 years), 70% were women. Fourteen patients had only anterograde amnesia. Furthermore, 46% of the patients with TGA (n = 14) had a history of Valsalva maneuver, and 70% of the patients (n = 21) had a pre-attack stress factor. The MRI scans of 14 patients (46.67%) showed hippocampal hyperintensity. With regard to the time production task, patients with TGA exhibited shorter times in all trials compared with their counterparts (5 s, 4.90 ± 1.16 vs. 5.53 ± 0.87; p value = 0.02: 15 s, 12.18 ± 4.55 vs. 14.42 ± 2.54; p value = 0.021). For the time comparison task, the number of correct answers given by patients with TGA was significantly lesser than that given by the control group (6.07 ± 1.23 vs. 6.90 ± 1.24; p value = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to invesgating an altered time perception in patients with TGA. Although the exact neurophysiological mechanism remains unclear, our findings could aid in the elucidation of brain function across specific time frames.

Temporal context effects and energy drink consumption: the moderating role of behavioral status.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the factors that impact the effectiveness of energy drink-related health messages. Specifically, this study examined how behavioral status moderates the effects of the temporal contexts described in messages related to energy drink consumption. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 823 college students enrolled in a northeastern university participated in this study. METHODS: A 2 (temporal context: proximate vs. distant) × 3 (behavioral status: non-initiator vs. former consumer vs. current consumer) experiment was conducted. RESULTS: Proximate context messages were more effective for non-initiators and current consumers in influencing descriptive norms and attitudes respectively, whereas distant context messages were marginally more effective for former consumers in influencing descriptive norms. CONCLUSION: The findings contribute to health promotion research by advancing scholarly understanding of the various behavioral status-dependent psychological effects of temporal context. Moreover, the results have implications for designing effective health campaign messages targeted to college students.

From Mind to Mouth: Understanding Active Publics in China and Their Communicative Behaviors on GM Foods.

Using an online survey conducted in China (N = 1089), this study aims to understand the characteristics of active publics on the issue of genetically modified (GM) foods and provide effective communication strategies with active publics in China. In doing so, this study segments active publics regarding GM foods and predicts their communicative behaviors on GM foods by using the theoretical framework of situational theory of problem solving (STOPS). The results of the study revealed the demographic characteristics of active publics, situational, and media factors to predict information seeking, forefending, and forwarding about GM foods. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Message Strategies and Viewer Responses: Content Analysis of HPV Vaccination Videos on YouTube.

Using content analysis, this study examined the effects of several messaging strategies in YouTube videos promoting human papillomavirus vaccines in Korea. It analyzed a total of 201 videos, focusing on five message strategies-temporal framing, narrative format, gain-loss framing, emotional appeals, and message sensation value. The analysis revealed that the creators of these YouTube videos frequently utilized all of these strategies, except for emotional appeals. It also showed that present-focused framing was effective in eliciting positive responses from viewers, and not including gain-loss framing was more effective in provoking responses. Meanwhile, message sensation values were found to increase both positive and negative viewer responses.

Are Chinese Netizens Willing to Speak Out? The Spiral of Silence in Public Reactions to Controversial Food Safety Issues on Social Media.

This study examines the influential factors posited by the Spiral of Silence Theory (SoS) in shaping people's perceptions of the overall public opinion towards food safety issues in China and their willingness to speak out. Two highly controversial issues, including genetically modified (GM) food and food additives, are examined. Using an online opt-in panel in China, we collected survey responses from a total of 1089 respondents, with a comparable age distribution to that of Chinese netizens, as indicated in the most recent census. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions were conducted to make statistical inferences about the proposed research questions and hypotheses. Findings suggest that perceived opinion incongruence, self-relevance, and self-influence significantly affected the extent to which people were willing to express their opinions on social media for the genetically modified food issue, but not the use of food additive issue. The study provides evidence of the silencing effect on publicly expressing opinions about the food safety related issues in China and clarifies the potential boundary conditions of the SoS mechanism in the context of Chinese social media where the majority of public opinions come into formation.

What Predicts Korean Citizens' Mask-Wearing Behaviors? Health Beliefs and Protective Behaviors against Particulate Matter.

Air pollution has become a critically important contemporary issue, exposing people to various health risks worldwide. Air pollution problems cannot be resolved in the short-term; therefore, citizens in regions with low air quality are encouraged to take protective actions such as wearing masks to filter particulate matter. However, compliance with such recommendations is limited. To enhance the effectiveness of health promotion in this regard, this study applied the health belief model to examine the factors that affect mask-wearing behaviors. It also investigates the factors that influence particulate matter-related health beliefs and protective behaviors. A cross-sectional survey with 200 Korean citizens was conducted. The results revealed associations between masking behaviors and both perceived benefits of and perceived physical barriers to wearing masks. In addition, sex, education, income, and having heard of different particulate matter-related health consequences were found to predict mask-wearing. This study demonstrates the utility of the health belief model in the context of air pollution and has practical implications for health promotion practitioners.

Mechanics of Rumor Mills and Epistemic Motivational Processes of Food-related Rumor Spread: Interplay between Attitude and Issue Motivation.

This study tested the manner in which attitude toward an object of rumor affects people's epistemic motivation to solve a problem and to share a rumor, specifically on social media, using two rumors regarding food safety issues including McDonald's and genetically modified food. An online survey administered to 184 undergraduate students who use Twitter showed that negative attitudes increased the likelihood of rumor sharing, mediated by issue-related epistemic motivation. However, positive attitudes showed no effects on issue-related motivation and the likelihood of rumor sharing. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Influence of Risk Severity and Intentionality on Perceptions of Food Contamination Risks among Pregnant Women: An Experimental Investigation.

Given the potential for severe health consequences of consuming contaminated foods during pregnancy, effective communication of food contamination risks to pregnant women is especially important. This study examines pregnant women's risk perceptions and intentions to adopt risk-reduction behaviors following exposure to a simulated news story about a food contamination incident. The news story was experimentally manipulated to depict the severity of the incident as high or low and the cause of the incident as accidental or intentional. Results showed that both severity and intentionality of the incident elevated pregnant women's perceptions of getting sick as well as their intentions to temporarily reduce consumption of the contaminated food product and to seek more information. Implications of these findings for effectively communicating food contamination risks to pregnant women are discussed.

The Impact of Narrative Strategy on Promoting HPV Vaccination among College Students in Korea: The Role of Anticipated Regret.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine hesitancy contributes to unsatisfactory vaccination coverage in Korea despite its high efficacy in preventing various diseases including cervical cancer. To enhance HPV vaccine uptake, effective communication with the public is key. To develop effective health promotion messages, this study examined the effects of message format on attitudes and intentions toward HPV vaccination, specifically focusing on anticipated action and inaction regrets. It employed a randomized experimental message design format (narrative versus didactic messages). A total of 222 Korean undergraduate students who had not received the HPV shot participated in the experiment. The results showed that didactic messages produce greater anticipated inaction regret, which further influences HPV vaccination attitudes and behaviors. Anticipated regret could potentially explain mixed narrative effects across health behaviors as described in existing literature.

The Effects of Goal Framing on Energy Drink Consumption: The Moderating Role of Temporal Framing.

BACKGROUND: With the rapid expansion of the energy drink market, concerns associated with its adverse effects have been raised. This research examines how goal framing moderated by temporal framing affects attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control related to energy drink consumption. METHODS: A 2 (goal framing: gain vs. loss) × 2 (temporal framing: present-oriented vs. future-oriented) randomised experiment was employed. The sample consisted of 195 college students who consume energy drinks. RESULTS: Results showed that a future-oriented message was more effective than a present-oriented one when used in gain framing in increasing perceived behavioral control, as predicted. A future-oriented message was also more effective in increasing perceived negative subjective norms, but only when used in loss framing; this was the opposite of the predicted result. CONCLUSIONS: The findings extend previous research on goal framing by (1) identifying an important moderator-temporal framing-in processing health promotion messages about energy drink consumption and (2) examining such moderated effects on different psychological factors. The findings of this study are expected to inform the development of more effective message strategies in health domains.

The Interplay of Message Framing and Consideration of Future Consequences on Energy Drink Consumption: Focusing on the Underlying Emotional Mechanism.

Researchers have examined the relative persuasiveness of gain- versus loss-framing in various health contexts, but factors that moderate the effects as well as the processes through which such interplay produces impacts remain unclear. This study addresses how message-framing effects are moderated by individual differences in considering future consequences and how such interaction effects influence persuasion through two discrete emotions - anticipated regret and anticipated anxiety. Results suggest that gain-framing was more persuasive for those who value future consequences, and such interaction exerted its effect through anticipated regret.

Concomitant Psychiatric Symptoms in Neurological Outpatients.

To estimate the prevalence of concomitant psychiatric disorders in neurological outpatients and to assess the value of simple screening questionnaires in the identification of psychiatric symptoms, we analyzed a total of 803 patients who visited neurology clinics with neurological symptoms over a six-month period. Using self-reported questionnaires, we assessed psychiatric symptoms, such as stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS), depression (Patient Health Question 9, PHQ9), and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, GAD7). According to the disease subtypes, we analyzed the psychiatric scales based on gender and age group. The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities was lowest in patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and highest among patients with cognitive decline and epilepsy. The overall prevalence of psychiatric symptoms markedly decreased with age. This decline was statistically significant for all questionnaires (PSS ≥ 14, p for trend = 0.027; PQH9 ≥ 10, p for trend = 0.005; GAD7 ≥ 10, p for trend = 0.002) and was more pronounced in males. Considering the high incidence of undetected psychiatric comorbidities and their associated burden, proactive psychiatric management should be included in neurological care. Psychiatric questionnaires could also be an effective screening tool for identifying psychiatric symptoms accompanying neurological symptoms.

Which Patients Are Prescribed Escitalopram?: Predictors for Escitalopram Prescriptions and Functional Outcomes among Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Recent studies have demonstrated that antidepressants could enhance functional recovery via neuroplasticity beyond solely treating depression. However, since Koreans typically show a greater aversion to seeking psychiatric care than citizens of Western countries, the number of antidepressant prescriptions is low. Through this study, we aim to identify the factors that lead to the prescription of antidepressants in subjects with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in clinical practice. A total of 775 patients with ischemic stroke (IS) participated in this study from March 2010 to May 2013. We used binary logistic regression to find predictors for escitalopram prescriptions. To reveal predictors for short-term functional outcomes, we used an adjusted regression model using a propensity score. Among the 775 participants, 39 (5.03%) were prescribed escitalopram. The duration of hospital stay (odds ratio (OR) = 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04⁻1.10) and the use of mechanical ventilation were significantly more closely related to escitalopram prescriptions as compared to non-escitalopram prescriptions (OR = 5.15; 95% CI = 1.53⁻17.40). The use of escitalopram, on the other hand, was not significantly associated with short-term functional outcomes (OR = 1.27; 95% CI = 0.50⁻3.25). Duration of hospital stay and use of mechanical ventilation were significantly related to escitalopram prescriptions.

The Relationship of Health Beliefs with Information Sources and HPV Vaccine Acceptance among Young Adults in Korea.

Despite the HPV vaccine’s efficacy in preventing cervical cancer, its coverage rates among Asians are very low. To increase immunization coverage among these populations, understanding the psychological factors that affect HPV acceptability is critical. To this end, this study examined the relationships between multidimensional health beliefs and HPV vaccine acceptance, and what information sources effectively foster HPV vaccination-related health beliefs. Data were collected using a survey of 323 undergraduate students in Korea. Results showed that perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived vaccine safety concerns predicted vaccine acceptance. Multiple dimensions of perceived barriers showed differing impacts on vaccine acceptance. In addition, interpersonal information sources were effective in boosting various health beliefs for HPV vaccination. The Internet also was effective in reducing social barriers, but the effects were opposite to those of social media. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Effect of Health Beliefs, Media Perceptions, and Communicative Behaviors on Health Behavioral Intention: An Integrated Health Campaign Model on Social Media.

Social media have recently gained attention as a potential health campaign tool. This study examines this line of expectation concerning the role social media may play in health campaigns by testing an integrated health campaign model that combines insights from research on social media-specific perceptions and communicative behaviors in order to predict health behaviors. Specifically, this study aims to (a) develop a more holistic social media campaign model for predicting health behaviors in the social media context, (b) investigate how social media channel-related perceptions affect preventive health behaviors, and (c) investigate how communicative behaviors mediate perceptions and behavioral intention. The study conducted an online survey of 498 females who followed the Purple Ribbon Twitter campaign (@pprb), a cervical cancer prevention campaign. The results indicated that information acquisition mediated perceived risk's effect on intention. Information acquisition also mediated the relationships between intention and information selection and information transmission. On the other hand, social media-related perceptions indirectly impacted behavioral intention through communicative behaviors. The findings' theoretical and practical implications are discussed.