Duan Qin, Chen Shangyi, Yuan Hang, Zhang Yue, Luo Siyang
Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Soc Sci Med. 2025 Jan;365:117611. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117611. Epub 2024 Dec 7.
COVID-19 reopening of China in the context of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has resulted in an unprecedented wave of infections, placing significant strain on healthcare systems and giving rise to a range of psychological responses, including perceptions of the pandemic's threat, emotional reactions, and prosocial intentions amid moral conflicts over medical resource scarcity and evolving public health responses. This study employed a comprehensive approach integrating surveys, behavioral experiments, and agent-based modeling (ABM) to examine these psychological impacts of COVID-19 reopening. A total of 1,675 participants from 34 Chinese provinces completed the surveys, with 587 also undertaking the reversal-learning task. The measures employed were primarily designed to assess perceptions of COVID-19 infection risk and medical resources, negative affect, and prosocial intentions in moral conflicts. Results found that the perception of infection risk and associated negative affects remained elevated until the pandemic decline. However, prosocial intentions initially increased, but subsequently decreased. Moreover, the influence of perceived public medical resources and negative affect on prosocial intentions is mediated by distinct pathways. ABM suggested that anxiety might accelerate the pandemic but increase overall fatalities through prosocial actions, while public medical resources perceptions might shape the pandemic by influencing healthcare-seeking behaviors. These findings underscore the crucial role of psychological factors in pandemic management, alongside physical aspects, providing a scientific foundation for future responses.
在高传染性的奥密克戎变种背景下，中国重新开放导致了前所未有的感染浪潮，给医疗系统带来了巨大压力，并引发了一系列心理反应，包括在医疗资源稀缺和不断演变的公共卫生应对措施引发的道德冲突中对疫情威胁的认知、情绪反应和亲社会意图。本研究采用了综合方法，结合调查、行为实验和基于主体的建模（ABM）来考察新冠疫情重新开放带来的这些心理影响。来自中国34个省份的1675名参与者完成了调查，其中587人还参与了反转学习任务。所采用的测量方法主要旨在评估对新冠感染风险和医疗资源的认知、负面影响以及道德冲突中的亲社会意图。结果发现，在疫情下降之前，对感染风险的认知和相关负面影响一直居高不下。然而，亲社会意图最初有所增加，但随后下降。此外，感知到的公共医疗资源和负面影响对亲社会意图的影响是通过不同途径介导的。ABM表明，焦虑可能会加速疫情传播，但通过亲社会行为增加总体死亡人数，而对公共医疗资源的认知可能会通过影响就医行为来塑造疫情。这些发现强调了心理因素在疫情管理中与身体因素同样重要的关键作用，为未来的应对措施提供了科学依据。
