Managing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) risk amid uncertainty: Personal relevance, conflicting information, and communication behaviors

Abstract

It is important to understand how people respond to conflicting information in a world that is saturated with misinformation and disinformation. In the context of an emerging environmental health risk – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), we examined how personal relevance and conflicting information affected individuals’ risk perception, information processing, and information seeking intention. Results from a 2 (high vs low personal relevance) × 2 (conflicting vs consistent information) experimental survey ( N  = 1062) showed that compared to a combination of low relevance and consistent information, high relevance and conflicting information led to greater risk perception, while high relevance and consistent information led to lower information seeking intention. We also investigated the moderating role of intolerance of uncertainty on participants’ responses to conflicting information. Findings from this study provide important theoretical and practical implications for health communication related to PFAS contamination and other novel environmental health risks.