Chinese public’s knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived controllability of the COVID-19 and their associations with emotional and behavioural reactions, social participation, and precautionary behaviour: A national survey

Abstract

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has caused enormous stress among the public in China. Intellectual input from various aspects is needed to control the COVID-19, including the understanding of the public’s emotion and behaviour and their antecedents from the psychological perspectives. Drawing upon the cognitive appraisal theory, this study examined three cognitive appraisals (i.e., knowledge, perceived severity and perceived controllability of the COVID-19) and their associations with a wide range of emotional and behavioural outcomes among the Chinese public. Participants were 4607 citizens (age range: 17–90 years, Mage=23.71 years) from 31 provinces in China and they took part in an online survey. The results showed that the public’s emotional and behavioural reactions were slightly affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19. Moreover, the public had limited participation in the events regarding the COVID-19 but actively engaged in precautionary behaviour. In addition, results of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the three appraisals were differentially related to the outcome variables. Theoretically, the findings highlight the utility of cognitive appraisal, as a core process of coping stress, in explaining the public’s emotion and behaviour in the encounter of public health concern. Practically, the findings facilitate the government and practitioners to design and deliver targeted intervention programs to the public affected by the COVID-19.

Personality differences and COVID-19: are extroversion and conscientiousness personality traits associated with engagement with containment measures?

“…Li et al 19 conducted a study in China (n = 4,607) investigating the impact of people's behavior on COVID-19 containment measures. The authors focused on social participation, precautionary behavior, and perceived severity, among other behaviors.…”

Assessing Preventive Health Behaviors from COVID-19 Based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) among People in Golestan Province: A Cross-Sectional Study in Northern Iran

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