Undergraduates’ Knowledge Attitude and Behavior (KAB) Towards the Disclosure of Personal Data Online in China

Abstract

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the employment and education sectors have shifted significantly toward online platforms. However, the increased reliance on these digital spaces has raised concerns about personal security information. Scholars have taken note of this issue and have explored its implications, with some employing the extended knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) model to investigate the moderating effects of societal education level on the relationship between knowledge and attitude. Hong et al. [1] conducted a study to examine undergraduates’ KAB regarding personal data sharing in Chinese higher education institutions during the pandemic. Using a questionnaire, the study recruited 156 participants from three universities in West and East China. Using SPSS 23.0, data analysis revealed a widespread lack of awareness, a positive attitude, and proper behavior among college students regarding online personal information leakage during the pandemic. Notably, disparities were observed in KAB among students of different grades, majors, and genders. Students in their sophomore, junior, and senior years were found to be more concerned than freshmen about the availability of their personal information online; what’s more, science majors were more concerned than students of other majors. There appear to be significant gender differences in personal information sharing, ie., males are more concerned about the security of personal information online than females. Through this study, we aim to emphasize that college students’ awareness of personal information protection needs to be improved and suggest that university administrators and policymakers increase information security training. The findings of this study contribute to the theoretical and practical efforts to improve information security in higher education. Future studies should broaden the survey sample and examine the primary factors that influence college students’ KAB of personal information security to ensure the generalization of findings.