IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i3p1540-d738283.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 Information Overload and Cyber Aggression during the Pandemic Lockdown: The Mediating Role of Depression/Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Confucian Responsibility Thinking

Author

Listed:
  • Qiong Wang

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Xiao Luo

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Ruilin Tu

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Tao Xiao

    (Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China)

  • Wei Hu

    (Information Engineering University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

Abstract

Many countries adopted lockdown measures to curb the spread of the outbreak in 2020, while information about COVID-19 has dominated various media outlets, which has led to information overload for people. However, previous research has mainly focused on cancer information overload and the corresponding consequence, and failed to examine its adverse effects in the context of major public health events. Based on the Frustrate Aggression Theory and the Scapegoat Theory, the present study established a moderated mediation model to investigate the emotional and behavioral outcomes of COVID-19 information overload. The mediating role of depression/anxiety in the association between COVID-19 information overload and cyber aggression, as well as the moderating role of Confucian responsibility thinking, were tested. This model was examined with 1005 Chinese people (mean age = 26.91 years, SD = 9.94) during the COVID-19 outbreak. Mediation analyses revealed that COVID-19 information overload was positively related to cyber aggression, depression, and anxiety, parallelly and partially mediated this relationship. Moderated mediation analyses further indicated that Confucian responsibility thinking not only moderated the direct link between COVID-19 information overload and cyber aggression, with the effect being significant only for people with a low level of Confucian responsibility thinking, but also moderated the relationship between COVID-19 information overload and depression/anxiety respectively, with the associations being much more potent for individuals with low levels of Confucian responsibility thinking. These findings have the potential to inform the development of prevention and intervention programs designed to reduce the negative emotions and cyber aggression associated with information overload in public health events.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiong Wang & Xiao Luo & Ruilin Tu & Tao Xiao & Wei Hu, 2022. "COVID-19 Information Overload and Cyber Aggression during the Pandemic Lockdown: The Mediating Role of Depression/Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Confucian Responsibility Thinking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1540-:d:738283
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1540/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1540/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hyehyun Hong & Hyo Jung Kim, 2020. "Antecedents and Consequences of Information Overload in the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Emilio Ferrara & Zeyao Yang, 2015. "Measuring Emotional Contagion in Social Media," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(11), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Unni Moksnes & Audhild Løhre & Monica Lillefjell & Don Byrne & Gørill Haugan, 2016. "The Association Between School Stress, Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Life Satisfaction as a Potential Mediator," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 339-357, January.
    4. So Young Shin & Yeon-Jun Choi, 2021. "Comparison of Cyberbullying before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-11, September.
    5. Gino, Francesca & Schweitzer, Maurice E. & Mead, Nicole L. & Ariely, Dan, 2011. "Unable to resist temptation: How self-control depletion promotes unethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 191-203, July.
    6. Lucie Corcoran & Conor Mc Guckin & Garry Prentice, 2015. "Cyberbullying or Cyber Aggression?: A Review of Existing Definitions of Cyber-Based Peer-to-Peer Aggression," Societies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-11, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xin Bao & Ping Ke, 2023. "Chaos, expansion, and contraction: The information worlds of depression patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 74(8), pages 971-989, August.
    2. Qiong Wang & Ruilin Tu & Yihe Jiang & Wei Hu & Xiao Luo, 2022. "Teasing and Internet Harassment among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Envy and the Moderating Role of the Zhong-Yong Thinking Style," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-15, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bárbara Machado & Paula Lobato de Faria & Isabel Araújo & Sónia Caridade, 2024. "Cyber Interpersonal Violence: Adolescent Perspectives and Digital Practices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(7), pages 1-22, June.
    2. Karunakaran, Arvind & Orlikowski, Wanda J. & Scott, Susan V., 2022. "Crowd-based accountability: examining how social media commentary reconfigures organizational accountability," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114401, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Zsuzsa Lábiscsák-Erdélyi & Ilona Veres-Balajti & Annamária Somhegyi & Karolina Kósa, 2022. "Self-Esteem Is Independent Factor and Moderator of School-Related Psychosocial Determinants of Life Satisfaction in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Liora Zimerman & Shaul Shalvi & Yoella Bereby-Meyer, 2014. "Self-reported ethical risk taking tendencies predict actual dishonesty," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 9(1), pages 58-64, January.
    5. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Nicolás Salamanca & Anna Zhu, 2019. "Parenting style as an investment in human development," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(4), pages 1315-1352, October.
    6. Plé, Loïc & Demangeot, Catherine, 2020. "Social contagion of online and offline deviant behaviors and its value outcomes: The case of tourism ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 886-896.
    7. Hyeyeon Lee & Hyeonkyeong Lee & Youlim Kim & Mikyung Lee & Chang Gi Park, 2022. "Reciprocal relationship between multicultural adolescents’ depression and life satisfaction: a random intercept cross-lagged panel model for 3-wave panel data," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 2353-2367, August.
    8. Zhu Yao & Jinlian Luo & Na Fu & Xianchun Zhang & Qunchao Wan, 2022. "Rational Counterattack: The Impact of Workplace Bullying on Unethical Pro-organizational and Pro-family Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 661-682, December.
    9. Lohse, Tim & Simon, Sven A. & Konrad, Kai A., 2018. "Deception under time pressure: Conscious decision or a problem of awareness?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 31-42.
    10. Roland Benabou & Armin Falk & Jean Tirole, 2018. "Narratives, Imperatives, and Moral Reasoning," Working Papers id:12918, eSocialSciences.
    11. Valerio Capraro, 2018. "Gender differences in lying in sender-receiver games: A meta-analysis," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 13(4), pages 345-355, July.
    12. Rui Zhang & Lin-Xin Wang & Jesus Alfonso D. Datu & Yue Liang & Kai Dou & Yan-Gang Nie & Jian-Bin Li, 2023. "High Qualities of Relationships with Parents and Teachers Contribute to the Development of Adolescent Life Satisfaction Through Resilience: A Three-Wave Prospective Longitudinal Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1339-1365, April.
    13. Katharina Rathmann & Katharina Loter & Theres Vockert, 2020. "Critical Events throughout the Educational Career: The Effect of Grade Retention and Repetition on School-Aged Children’s Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-30, June.
    14. Lucia Kvasková & Karel Rečka & Stanislav Ježek & Petr Macek, 2022. "Time Spent on Daily Activities and Its Association with Life Satisfaction among Czech Adolescents from 1992 to 2019," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, August.
    15. Hainan Huang & Weifan Chen & Tian Xie & Yaoyao Wei & Ziqing Feng & Weijiong Wu, 2021. "The Impact of Individual Behaviors and Governmental Guidance Measures on Pandemic-Triggered Public Sentiment Based on System Dynamics and Cross-Validation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-25, April.
    16. Evan Polman & Lyn M. Van Swol & Paul R. Hoban, 2020. "Harbingers of foul play: A field study of gain/loss frames and regulatory fit in the NFL," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 15(3), pages 353-370, May.
    17. Meub, Lukas & Proeger, Till & Schneider, Tim & Bizer, Kilian, 2015. "The victim matters: Experimental evidence on lying, moral costs and moral cleansing," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 233, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    18. Gino, Francesca & Ayal, Shahar & Ariely, Dan, 2013. "Self-serving altruism? The lure of unethical actions that benefit others," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 285-292.
    19. Georgios Marios Chrysanthou, 2021. "A Multiple Cohort Study of the Gender Gradient of Life Satisfaction during Adolescence: Longitudinal Evidence from Great Britain," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(6), pages 1341-1376, December.
    20. Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2018. "Losing a real-life lottery and dishonest behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-30.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1540-:d:738283. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.