Cognitive and Emotional Motivation to Explain Infection-Prevention Behaviors with Social Support as a Mediator During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in Korea.

PURPOSE

To predict the performance of infection-prevention behaviors among adults in Korea based on the health belief model, using social support as a mediator.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A nationwide cross-sectional survey of 700 participants from the local community was conducted using both online and offline methods from 8 metropolitan cities and 9 provinces in Korea from November 2021 to March 2022. The questionnaire was composed of 4 sections: demographic information, motivational factors for behavior change, social support, and infection-prevention behaviors. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with the AMOS program. The general least-squares method was applied to assess the fit of the model and the bootstrapping method was tested for indirect effect and the total effect.

RESULTS

Motivation factors that directly affected infection-prevention behaviors were self-efficacy (γ=0.58, <0.001), perceived barriers (γ=-.08, =0.004), perceived benefits (γ=0.10, =0.002), perceived threats (γ=0.08, =0.009), and social support (γ=0.13, <0.001), after controlling for related demographic variables. Cognitive and emotional motivation factors together explained 59% of the variance in infection-prevention behaviors. Social support exerted significant mediating effects between each cognitive and emotional motivation variable and infection-prevention behaviors, along with a significant direct effect on infection-prevention behaviors (γ=0.12, <0.001).

CONCLUSION

The engagement of prevention behaviors among community-dwelling adults was influenced by their self-efficacy, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and perceived threats with social support as a mediator. Prevention policy approaches could include providing specific information to improve self-efficacy and build awareness of the severity of the disease while establishing a supportive social environment for promoting health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.