Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, China.
School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Apr 14;21(1):722. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10784-y.
The global outbreak of COVID-19 has become an international public health crisis. Specific antiviral treatments for COVID-19 are not yet available, and prevention is of particular importance to fight the virus. This study tends to explore and compare the roles of cognitive and affective factors in predicting preventive behavior adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.
An online survey using a quota sampling method to collect responses from 3000 Chinese adults was conducted from March 2, 2020 to March 23, 2020. Questions included sociodemographic features, coronavirus knowledge, negative emotion, risk perception, and behavioral responses. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors of behavioral responses toward COVID-19.
On average, respondents had low levels of knowledge about COVID-19 (the overall correct response rate was 7.5%). Most respondents reported moderate to strong negative emotions towards the virus (3.47 out of 5). The average reported perceived chance of infection was 23.89%. For behavioral responses, respondents reported low frequencies of going out for activities (1.98 out of 4) and high frequencies of taking preventive measures (3.22 out of 4). Behavioral responses toward COVID-19 were found to be determined by cognitive and affective variables. Knowledge was negatively related to frequency of going out for activities (β = - 0.11, p < .001). Negative emotion (β = 0.34, p < .001), and risk perception (β = 0.05, p = .007) were positively associated with going out for activities. The explanatory power of affective variables (ΔR = 12.1%) was greater than cognitive variables (ΔR = 1.0%). For preventive behaviors, knowledge was positively associated with preventive behaviors (β = 0.22, p < .001). Negative emotion (β = - 0.28, p < .001) and risk perception (β = - 0.05, p = .002) were all negatively associated with preventive measures. Affective variables still showed stronger explanatory power (ΔR = 8%) than cognitive variables (ΔR = 4.4%) in predicting preventive behaviors.
After the rising period of the COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China, cognitive and affective variables still played important roles in predicting behavioral responses. Compared with cognitive factors, affective factors demonstrated stronger explanatory power in predicting behavioral responses toward COVID-19. The findings may have implications for enhancing individual compliance with guidelines of adopting preventive behaviors in response to COVID-19.
全球 COVID-19 疫情爆发，已成为国际公共卫生危机。目前尚无针对 COVID-19 的特效抗病毒疗法，预防对抵抗该病毒尤为重要。本研究旨在探索和比较认知和情感因素在预测中国 COVID-19 大流行期间预防行为采用中的作用。
采用配额抽样法，于 2020 年 3 月 2 日至 3 月 23 日，通过在线调查收集了 3000 名中国成年人的回复。问题包括社会人口统计学特征、冠状病毒知识、负面情绪、风险感知和行为反应。采用多元回归分析来检验 COVID-19 行为反应的预测因子。
平均而言，受访者对 COVID-19 的了解程度较低（整体正确回复率为 7.5%）。大多数受访者对该病毒的情绪反应为中度至强烈（5 分制中得 3.47 分）。报告的平均感染几率为 23.89%。在行为反应方面，受访者报告的外出活动频率较低（4 分制中得 1.98 分），而采取预防措施的频率较高（4 分制中得 3.22 分）。研究发现，COVID-19 的行为反应取决于认知和情感变量。知识与外出活动频率呈负相关（β=-0.11，p<.001）。负面情绪（β=0.34，p<.001）和风险感知（β=0.05，p=0.007）与外出活动呈正相关。情感变量的解释力（ΔR=12.1%）大于认知变量（ΔR=1.0%）。对于预防行为，知识与预防行为呈正相关（β=0.22，p<.001）。负面情绪（β=-0.28，p<.001）和风险感知（β=-0.05，p=0.002）均与预防措施呈负相关。情感变量在预测预防行为方面仍表现出更强的解释力（ΔR=8%），而认知变量（ΔR=4.4%）的解释力则较弱。
在中国 COVID-19 疫情上升期过后，认知和情感变量仍然在预测行为反应方面发挥重要作用。与认知因素相比，情感因素在预测 COVID-19 行为反应方面具有更强的解释力。这些发现可能对增强个人遵守 COVID-19 预防行为指南具有重要意义。
