Linking Risk Perceptions and Information Acquisition to Preventive Behaviors: An Application of the Extended Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction in Italy and the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, rapidly evolving health guidance and widespread misinformation posed unprecedented challenges for quality health communication. This study examines how individuals navigated this changing information environment by extending the integrative model of behavioral prediction (IMBP) to explore how risk perceptions and information acquisition relate to preventative behavioral intentions (mask-wearing and social distancing) via cognitive beliefs (attitudes, perceived norms, self-efficacy) across the U.S. (n = 333) and Italy (n = 331). In Italy, risk perceptions predicted intentions through information seeking and specific IMBP constructs: attitudes for social distancing, and injunctive norms plus self-efficacy for mask-wearing. No such serial mediation emerged in the U.S. and information scanning did not create mediation pathways in either country. Direct associations revealed that information seeking related to IMBP constructs in both countries, while information scanning showed associations only in the U.S. Attitudes, injunctive norms, and self-efficacy consistently predicted intentions across both countries and behaviors, whereas descriptive norms predicted only Americans’ mask-wearing intentions. These findings highlight how cultural and structural factors shape information processing pathways during health crises, with implications for culturally tailored public health communication strategies.