Crises like pandemics offer opportunities for communities to become more resilient, in part because individuals reconnect with family and friends. Such interpersonal communication often plays an essential role in spreading helpful information and supporting protective action decision-making. Despite the recognized importance of interpersonal communication in crises, few studies have focused on theorizing the central role of interpersonal crisis communication. Likewise, the broader field of interpersonal communication has not emphasized connections with crisis communication. This chapter reviews the state of theory and applied knowledge on interpersonal crisis communication with a focus on pandemics. The chapter concludes with recommendations for filling critical knowledge gaps.
Publication Information
Liu, Brooke Fisher and Abbey Blake Levenshus. 2023. "Interpreting the Interpersonal: Crisis Communication Insights for Pandemics." In Stephen M. Croucher and Audra Diers-Lawson (eds) Pandemic Communication. Routledge: NY.