The Mediating Effects of Counter‐Attitudinal Exposure, Political Knowledge, and Trust in Government on Community Connectedness

ABSTRACT Objective This study examines the mediating effects of intentional counter‐attitudinal exposure, political knowledge, and trust in local government between individuals. social media exposure and their community connectedness. Methods Nationally representative samples in the United States were collected to test the hypotheses. Grounded in the O‐S‐R‐O‐R model, hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modeling. Results The results indicate that intentional counter‐attitudinal exposure moderates the effects of social media exposure on individuals' expressive engagement, action‐oriented civic engagement, and community connectedness. The two types of civic engagement moderate the relationship between intentional counter‐attitudinal exposure and community connectedness. However, individuals. political knowledge does not have significant effects on expressive, action‐oriented civic engagement, and community connectedness. Conclusion The findings extends the O‐S‐R‐O‐R model to the community communication context. The findings suggest that communication practitioners can enhance individuals' perceived community connectedness by organizing action‐oriented civic activities.