摘要：The avoidance of information has been mainly explored in psychology and health sociology. In information studies, the issues of avoiding information have been characterized while identifying diverse barriers of information seeking. The avoidance of information has also been approached as an individual component of information behavior. The present study focuses on the avoidance of health information. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with nine university students in 2007, the motives and ways of health information were scrutinized. The study revealed that the intensivity of avoiding information varied considerably, depending on the topic of health-related issues and the context in which health information was provided. The avoidance of information may appear during the process of information seeking. The avoidance may also manifest itself when the individual refrains from consulting any information source. The main motives of avoiding information were affective by nature. Health information was avoided because of the risk of facing negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger and depression. The major ways of avoiding information included intentional withdrawal from situations which would expose the individual to health information, abstaining from thinking about health issues, and omitting information sources that are likely elicit negative emotions.
