The Effect of Psychological Adaptation on Prevention Behavior of College Students during the Coronavirus Disease(COVID-19): A Moderated Mediating Model

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 is an infectious disease. From January 2020 to now, the disease is still a public health event.Aims: Our aim in the present study was to examine the effects of psychological adaptation on preventive behavior, the mediating effect of risk cognition and the moderating effect of stress coping.Methods: We took colleges students in China as the survey subject; data were collected during the peak period of the COVID-19.Results: Psychological adaptation had a significant negative predictive effect on preventive behavior. Risk cognition had a partial mediating effect between psychological adaptation and preventive behavior. Stress coping plays a moderating effect in the first half of the mediating process of psychological adaptation → risk cognition → preventive behavior, and individuals with high stress coping are more vulnerable to the impact of psychological adaptation on risk cognition.Conclusions: The impact of psychological adaptation on preventive behavior can occur through the mediation variable of risk cognition. Reducing the risk cognition of college students helps to enhance the positive predictive effect of psychological adaptation on preventive behavior. Moreover, stress coping plays a moderating effect of the mediation model. improving the stress coping of colleges and universities students helps to better increase the negative predict effect of psychological adaptation on risk cognition.