From Media Use to Government Trust during Crisis: The Mediating Role of Social Cohesion following the Itaewon Disaster

This study explores how media use—by type, frequency, and crisis context—affects public trust in government during national emergencies, with social cohesion as a mediator. A survey of 801 South Korean adults after the 2022 Itaewon disaster was analyzed using Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 4). Regular mass media use boosted trust directly and indirectly via increased social cohesion. More frequent social media use during crises showed a small positive indirect effect. In contrast, identifying social media as the main crisis information source was linked to a negative indirect trend via reduced social cohesion, though the confidence interval included zero, suggesting non-significance. These findings suggest that social media's effect on trust depends on usage patterns and context. The study contributes to crisis communication research by confirming social cohesion as a key pathway between media behavior and trust. Implications are provided for improving institutional trust through strategic communication during national emergencies.