Longitudinal relationships between COVID-19 preventative behaviors and perceived vulnerability to disease

Perceived vulnerability to disease and children's COVID behavioral response: The role of health consciousness and family financial status

This study investigated the impact of family financial status on Chinese children's health-related traits and their behavior in controlling COVID-19. When the children were 7 years old, their guardians provided information on family financial status. When the children reached 10 years old, they completed questionnaires concerning their own health consciousness and health status. At age 11, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, they filled out questionnaires on perceived vulnerability to disease and disease control behavior. The findings revealed that higher health consciousness is associated with better health, particularly among children from financially challenged families. Additionally, a greater perception of vulnerability to disease is linked to increased COVID-19 control behaviors, particularly in children with high health consciousness in affluent families. These results contribute to our understanding of how children's personal health-related traits and family financial status interact to shape their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

State and Trait Disgust Uniquely Predict Avoidance in Contamination Fear: Specificity of Disease-Specific and Nonspecific Individual Differences

Although behavioral avoidance is observed among those with heightened contamination concerns, the extent to which such avoidance is best predicted by state and/or trait characteristics is unclear. Furthermore, while disgust proneness is a disease-specific trait that has been shown to predict avoidance among those with symptoms of contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), it is unclear if other disease-specific traits may also serve a similar function. In the present study, contamination-fearful participants (N = 89) first completed self-report measures of disease-specific (disgust proneness, health anxiety, perceived vulnerability to disease) and disease-nonspecific (intolerance of uncertainty, trait anxiety) traits. They then completed a 16-step behavioral approach task (BAT) with increasing likelihood of contagion in a public restroom and provided ratings of state disgust and state anxiety at each step. Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression showed that state disgust, but not state anxiety, at a given step was associated with avoidance on the next step. Furthermore, disgust proneness was the only trait associated with avoidance on the BAT. A significant interaction between disgust proneness and BAT step completed in the public restroom was also found. Examination of this interaction suggests that intermediary, but not initial and latter, steps of the BAT differentiate those high and low in disgust proneness. These findings suggest that state and trait disgust uniquely drive behavioral avoidance among those with contamination concerns commonly observed in OCD.

Factors Associated with Impact of Event Scores Among Ontario Education Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

There is limited information regarding factors related to education workers' responses to traumatic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study goal was to determine whether personal factors, behaviours that mitigate viral spread, and work-related factors were associated with post-traumatic symptoms. This observational study, embedded within a cohort study, recruited Ontario education workers from February 2021 to June 2023. Exposure data were collected at enrollment and updated annually. Participants completed the Impact of Event Scale (IES) at withdrawal/study completion. Modified Poisson regression was used to build hierarchical models of dichotomized IES scores (≥26: moderate/severe post-traumatic symptoms). Of the 1518 education workers who submitted an IES between September 2022 and December 2023, the incidence rate ratio of IES scores ≥26 was significantly higher among participants who usually/always wore a mask at work (1.48; 95% confidence interval 1.23, 1.79), usually/always practiced physical distancing (1.31; 1.06, 1.62), lived in larger households (1.06; 1.01, 1.12), and reported poor/fair/good health (1.27; 1.11, 1.46). However, models accounted for little of the variance in IES scores, suggesting the need for future studies to collect data on other factors associated with the development of PTSD, such as pre-existing mental health challenges. Early identification of those experiencing traumatic stress and the implementation of stress reduction strategies are needed to ensure the ongoing health of education workers.

Germ aversion is a risk factor for chronic low back pain and shoulder pain under the COVID-19 pandemic: an internet-based panel study

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased germ aversion, an aversive affective response to a high likelihood of pathogen transmission. While psychological factors are associated with chronic pain, the relationship between germ aversion and chronic pain remains unexplored. This study aimed to examine the relationship between germ aversion and new-onset and prognosis of chronic pain using longitudinal data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted web-based surveys of full-time workers at baseline and after three months. Data were collected on demographic characteristics, psychological factors, and chronic pain. Germ aversion was assessed using a modified Perceived Vulnerability to Disease scale. We analyzed responses from 1265 panelists who completed the survey twice. The prevalence of chronic low back pain (CLBP) and chronic neck and shoulder pain (CNSP) was associated with sex, short sleep duration, psychological distress, loneliness, and germ aversion. Stratified analyses showed that germ aversion was a risk factor for CLBP at three months in both individuals with and without CLBP at baseline, and for CNSP at three months in those with CNSP at baseline, even after adjustment for confounders. In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests that high germ aversion is a risk factor for CLBP and CNSP in young and middle-aged workers.

The role of the behavioural immune system on covid-19 lockdown attitudes: The relationship with authoritarianism and collectivism

Background and objectives

The behavioural immune system (BIS) is a motivational system that facilitates the avoidance of pathogens and is thought to have evolved as a less costly mechanism to combat infectious diseases compared to the physiological immune system. The Parasite Stress Theory of Social Values predicts that authoritarianism and collectivist attitudes may impact the BIS by predisposing people to support disease control measures, including severe restrictions like lockdowns or stay-at-home orders. This study investigates the relationship between authoritarianism, collectivism and Covid-19 worry on support for lockdown measures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methodology

A total of 187 UK participants were recruited to complete an online survey, which was administered between 22 June and 7 July 2020. The survey included measures of authoritarianism, collectivism, Covid-19 worry and support for lockdown measures. The data were analysed using moderated parallel mediation analysis.

Results

Covid-19 worry had a direct effect on support for and enforcement of lockdown measures, but not on the idea that adherence to lockdown rules should be an individual choice. The relationship between Covid Worry and Support for and Enforcement of lockdown measures was not mediated by authoritarianism, nor was it moderated by Collectivism. Collectivism and Authoritarianism were related to increased levels of support for lockdown independently from Covid Worry but were not related to enforcement.

Conclusions and implications

Support for lockdown restrictions and enforcement was mainly associated with covid worry. Our findings do not support the parasite stress theory of social values and indicate that the BIS manifested in a more direct way, and not through social values.

I Got it. Perceived Infectability and Germ Aversion after Covid-19 Infection

Objective

The COVID-19 pandemic has offered a unique opportunity to test evolutionary hypotheses on the functionality of the behavioral immune system. The aim of the present study was to ascertain if a previous infection with COVID-19 was associated with increased levels of perceived infectability and germ aversion. Based on the calibration hypothesis, we predicted that the activation of the behavioral immune system was greater in those participants who had been infected compared to those who reported no previous COVID-19 infection.

Method

The sample included 2072 participants who completed an online survey between March 1 and April 10, 2022 when the Italian population was facing the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. To measure the activation of the behavioral immune system, we used the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (PVD) scale.

Results

Perceived infectability was significantly greater in those participants who had been infected compared to those who reported no previous COVID-19 infection but there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of germ aversion.Conclusions Overall, our findings suggest that individual differences in the activation of the behavioral immune system were marginally affected by a personal history of COVID-19 infection. A possible explanation is that the environmental sensitivity of the behavioral immune system is tuned more on chronic disease threat (i.e., ecologies with higher pathogen load) than on situational disease threat (e.g., a pandemic or disease outbreak like the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Resilience of South African School Teachers in the Time of COVID-19: Coping with Risk of Infection, Loneliness, and Anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated an overall increase in the global prevalence of mental health disorders and psychological distress. However, against this backdrop, there was also evidence of adaptation and coping, which suggested the influence of protective factors. The current study aims to extend previous research on the role of protective factors by investigating the health-sustaining and mediating roles of resilience in the relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, loneliness, and anxiety. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of schoolteachers (N = 355) who completed the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire, the short form of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and the trait scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale, through an online link created with Google Forms. The results of path analysis indicated significant negative associations between resilience and both loneliness and anxiety. These results indicate the health-sustaining role of resilience. In addition, resilience mediated the relationships between germ aversion and perceived infectability, on the one hand, and loneliness and anxiety, on the other hand. The findings confirm that resilience can play a substantial role in counteracting the negative impact of the pandemic on mental health.

Longitudinal trajectories of coronavirus anxiety and health behavior use before and after the U.S. 2020 presidential election: The effects of political orientation

Although heightened anxiety and health behavior use (i.e., masking, hand washing) may be viewed as an adaptive response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is unclear how the politicization of the pandemic has influenced the trajectory of such responses. Accordingly, the present study examined differences between those that identify as more conservative or liberal in the trajectory of anxiety and health behaviors during the pandemic. This study also examines shifts in this trajectory before and after the presidential election. As part of a larger study, participants (N = 374) completed a symptom survey starting on May 27, 2020 every 2 weeks for a total of 15 timepoints over 30 weeks. The findings showed that more conservative participants reported lower levels of COVID-19 anxiety and less health behavior use compared to more liberal participants. In fact, anxiety levels increased slightly for more liberal participants and decreased slightly for more conservative participants during the pre-election time frame. Health behavior use also decreased more rapidly for conservative participants than for liberal participants during the pre-election time frame. However, COVID-19 anxiety and health behavior use rose sharply and similarly for both liberal and conservative individuals after the election. Importantly, these patterns were independent of state level variability in COVID-19 positivity and death rates. Subsequent analysis also revealed significant relations between COVID-19 anxiety and health behavior use that was slightly stronger among conservatives. Implications of these findings for navigating the influence of political ideology on anxiety-related responses during a public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

Psychological factors responsible for low adherence to mask-wearing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to >6 million deaths. Anti-mask movements may decrease the effects of preventive measures. Psychological factors that may be related to anti-mask behaviour are not well researched.

AIMS

This study aims to determine the psychological correlates of anti-mask attitudes and behaviour in an online general population sample, focusing on the possible role of claustrophobia.

METHOD

Data on attitudes and behaviour toward mask-wearing were collected from an online sample of 3709 people. Predictors of both anti-mask attitudes and behaviour were assessed with linear and logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Few people (3.3%) were overtly opposed to mask-wearing; mask opposition was more common in men than women. Predictors of negative attitude toward mask-wearing and low adherence to mask-related measures were similar and included male gender, lower education, lower income, being employed, having had COVID-19 and lower COVID-19-related anxiety. Psychopathology measures did not show a prediction, whereas claustrophobia had a significant prediction that was over and above those of other predictors. Avoidance behaviour had similar predictors, except for higher COVID-19-related anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Although low adherence to mask-wearing during the pandemic was not related to having a mental disorder, it may partly be caused by psychological factors. Those who had a negative attitude also reported lower adherence behaviour, and were characterised by being male, having lower education, being employed and having lower COVID-19-related anxiety; claustrophobia was a strong predictor of attitude. Understanding psychological factors responsible for low adherence may help to decrease morbidity and mortality in future pandemics.