Radell Milen L, McGuire Brian M
Department of Psychology, Niagara University, Lewiston, NY 14109 USA.
Discov Psychol. 2021;1(1):10. doi: 10.1007/s44202-021-00010-6. Epub 2021 Dec 20.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented uncertainty, and differences in how people cope with this uncertainty will influence the cost of viral pandemics to both individuals and society. The personality trait of intolerance of uncertainty (IU), defined as a dispositional fear of the unknown, has been linked to higher health anxiety and fear of the virus. Although IU may increase the desire for medical information and treatment, during pandemics, this might be weighed against the risk of becoming infected while in a healthcare setting. We examined whether people with higher IU report greater fear of healthcare settings, and show more desire to be tested for the virus. Residents of the United States ( = 149) were surveyed in early May 2020, while most states had active stay-at-home orders. Higher prospective but not inhibitory IU predicted more fear of healthcare settings. The largest effect size, however, was for fear of leaving the home, indicating a general tendency toward fear and avoidance. Fear of leaving the home, perceiving the virus as dangerous, access to testing, and having symptoms were significant predictors of desire for testing.
新型冠状病毒（COVID-19）大流行造成了前所未有的不确定性，而人们应对这种不确定性方式的差异将影响病毒大流行对个人和社会造成的代价。不确定性不耐受（IU）这一个性特质，被定义为一种对未知的倾向性恐惧，与更高的健康焦虑和对病毒的恐惧有关。尽管IU可能会增加对医疗信息和治疗的渴望，但在大流行期间，这可能会与在医疗机构中被感染的风险相权衡。我们研究了IU较高的人是否表现出对医疗机构更大的恐惧，以及是否表现出更强烈的病毒检测意愿。2020年5月初，在美国大多数州都实施了有效的居家令期间，对149名美国居民进行了调查。前瞻性而非抑制性的IU较高预示着对医疗机构更大的恐惧。然而，效应量最大的是对离家的恐惧，表明存在恐惧和回避的总体倾向。对离家的恐惧、将病毒视为危险、可进行检测以及出现症状是检测意愿的重要预测因素。
