HJ Institute of Technology and Management, 71 Jungdong-Ro 39 104-1602, Gyeonggi-Do, 14721, Bucheon-Si, Republic of Korea.
Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-Gu, 06591, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Aug 16;23(1):1556. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16491-0.
Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation has become a pressing issue worldwide, deeply affecting individuals' mental and physical well-being. This study introduces a theoretical model to understand the factors influencing social isolation in the context of this global health crisis. We employed a survey methodology, collecting data from Korean and Vietnamese university students through a Google survey form. The theoretical model was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM), and multi-group analysis (MGA) was used to assess differences between the Korean and Vietnamese student groups. The investigation centered on affective risk perception, cognitive risk perception, social distancing attitude, social distancing intention, and demographic factors like age and gender. Our findings revealed that affective and cognitive risk perceptions have significant positive impacts on attitudes toward social distancing. Furthermore, attitudes towards social distancing were found to significantly influence social distancing intentions. Interestingly, social distancing intention was found to have a significant positive correlation with social isolation. Lastly, demographic factors such as gender and age were found to be significant factors influencing social isolation. Specifically, gender had a positive association, while age showed a negative correlation with social isolation. Moreover, our MGA results showed that the relationship between social distancing intention and social isolation significantly differed between the Korean and Vietnamese student groups, indicating potential cultural or societal influences on this relationship. Such understanding could inform policies and strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of social isolation in the wake of global health crises.
在持续的 COVID-19 大流行中，社交隔离已成为全球范围内一个紧迫的问题，深刻影响着个体的身心健康。本研究提出了一个理论模型，旨在理解在这一全球健康危机背景下影响社交隔离的因素。我们采用问卷调查法，通过 Google 调查表单收集了韩国和越南大学生的数据。我们使用结构方程模型（SEM）评估了理论模型，并进行了多组分析（MGA）以评估韩国和越南学生群体之间的差异。研究重点关注情感风险感知、认知风险感知、社交距离态度、社交距离意向以及年龄和性别等人口统计学因素。研究结果表明，情感和认知风险感知对社交距离态度有显著的正向影响。此外，社交距离态度对社交距离意向有显著影响。有趣的是，社交距离意向与社交隔离呈显著正相关。最后，人口统计学因素如性别和年龄被发现是影响社交隔离的重要因素。具体来说，性别与社交隔离呈正相关，而年龄与社交隔离呈负相关。此外，我们的 MGA 结果表明，社交距离意向与社交隔离之间的关系在韩国和越南学生群体之间存在显著差异，这表明这种关系可能受到文化或社会因素的影响。这种理解可以为旨在减轻全球健康危机背景下社交隔离不利影响的政策和策略提供信息。
