Stangier Ulrich, Kananian Schahryar, Schüller Johanna
Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Department of Psychology, Goethe University, Varrentrappstr. 40-42, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Curr Psychol. 2022;41(10):7362-7370. doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-01456-6. Epub 2021 Feb 26.
The COVID-19 pandemic has called worldwide for strong governmental measures to contain its spread, associated with considerable psychological distress. This study aimed at screening a convenience sample in Germany during lockdown for perceived vulnerability to disease, knowledge about COVID-19, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and behavioral responses. In an online survey, 1358 participants completed the perceived vulnerability to disease scale (PVD), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4), and questionnaires on knowledge about COVID-19 and self-perceived change in behaviors in response to COVID-19. Lower and upper quartiles of the PVD were used to classify individuals into low and high PVD. A confirmatory factor analysis supported three factors representing risk, preventive and adaptive behavior as behavioral responses to COVID-19 lockdown. A structural equation model showed that the score of the knowledge scale significantly predicted the self-reported increase in adaptive and preventive behavior. The score in the PVD-subscale Perceived Infectability predicted a self-reported increase in preventive behavior, whereas the Germ Aversion score predicted a self-reported increase in preventive and a decrease in risk behavior. The score in PHQ-4 predicted a higher score in the perceived infectability and germ aversion subscales, and a self-reported decrease in adaptive behavior. Low-, medium- and high-PVD groups reported distinct patterns of behavior, knowledge, and mental health symptoms. This study shows that perceived vulnerability to disease is closely linked to preventive behaviors and may enhance adaptation to COVID-19 pandemic.
新冠疫情促使全球各国政府采取强有力措施来遏制其传播，这也带来了相当大的心理困扰。本研究旨在对德国封锁期间的一个便利样本进行筛查，以了解其对疾病的感知易感性、对新冠病毒的了解、抑郁和焦虑症状以及行为反应。在一项在线调查中，1358名参与者完成了疾病感知易感性量表（PVD）、患者健康问卷（PHQ - 4），以及关于新冠病毒的知识问卷和关于因新冠疫情而自我感知到的行为变化的问卷。PVD的下四分位数和上四分位数被用来将个体分为低PVD和高PVD。验证性因素分析支持了代表风险、预防和适应行为的三个因素，作为对新冠疫情封锁的行为反应。结构方程模型表明，知识量表的得分显著预测了自我报告的适应和预防行为的增加。PVD子量表“感知易感染性”的得分预测了自我报告的预防行为的增加，而“细菌厌恶”得分预测了自我报告的预防行为增加和风险行为减少。PHQ - 4的得分预测了在感知易感染性和细菌厌恶子量表中的更高得分，以及自我报告的适应行为减少。低PVD、中PVD和高PVD组报告了不同的行为、知识和心理健康症状模式。本研究表明，对疾病的感知易感性与预防行为密切相关，可能会增强对新冠疫情的适应能力。
