Abstract:
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrants were among the most socially vulnerable in Western countries. The Chinese diaspora in Canada were one such group due to the widespread cultural stigma surrounding their purported greater susceptibility to transmit and become infected by COVID-19. This paper aims to understand the social vulnerability of the Chinese diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, during the first wave of COVID-19 from an explanation of their risk perception and threat appraisal of risk communication. We conducted secondary data analysis of 36 interviews using critical realism. The participants self-identified as being of Chinese descent. The results were used to develop a model of how social vulnerability occurred. In brief, cognitive dissonance was discovered to generate conflicts of one\'s cultural identity, shaped by social structures of (i) stigma of contagion, (ii) ethnic stigma, and (iii) public sentiment, and mediated by participants\' threat appraisal and (iv) self-reliance. We assert that risk communicators need to consider their audiences\' diverse socialization in crafting messages to modify behaviors, create a sense of responsibility, and mitigate public health threats. A lack of awareness of one\'s cognitive dissonance driven by cultural vulnerability may heighten their social vulnerability and prevent them from taking action to protect themself from high-risk events.
摘要:
在第一波COVID-19大流行期间,移民是西方国家中最脆弱的社会群体之一。加拿大的华人侨民就是这样一个群体,因为他们声称更容易传播和感染COVID-19,这种文化耻辱普遍存在。本文旨在了解大多伦多地区华人侨民的社会脆弱性,加拿大,在第一波COVID-19期间,从他们对风险认知的解释和对风险沟通的威胁评估。我们使用批判性现实主义对36次访谈进行了二次数据分析。参与者自我认定为中国血统。结果被用来建立社会脆弱性发生的模型。简而言之,认知失调被发现会产生一个人的文化身份冲突,由(I)传染病的耻辱的社会结构塑造,(ii)种族污名,和(iii)公众情绪,并由参与者进行威胁评估和(Iv)自力更生。我们断言,风险传播者在制作信息以修改行为时需要考虑他们的受众的多元化社会化,树立责任感,减轻公共卫生威胁。缺乏对文化脆弱性导致的认知失调的认识可能会加剧他们的社会脆弱性,并阻止他们采取行动保护自己免受高风险事件的影响。