Does Trust Affect Behavior in a Public Health Crisis? Testing an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model With Trust

Abstract

Trust dynamics are known to impact an individual's compliance with information from different sources and their behaviors. It is helpful to explore the roles of trust in different entities in predicting people's behavioral intentions and behaviors in a mega-crisis. With the initial stage of a public health crisis in China as its context, this study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior by incorporating trust in four key entities: the government, scientists, healthcare providers, and others. Results show that trust in the government is a significant and positive predictor of an individual's self-care and social distancing behaviors. However, trust in scientists, healthcare providers and interpersonal trust do not affect such behaviors. This retrospective analysis enables a more panoramic reflection on the impact of trust on public behavior in the face of a crisis, offering valuable insights for the management of similar crises in the future.