Using the protection motivation theory to examine the effects of fear arousal on the practice of social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak in rural areas

Adunlin, Georges; Adedoyin, A. Christson; Adedoyin, Oreoluwa O.; Njoku, Anuli; Bolade-Ogunfodun, Yemisi; Bolaji, Bolanle

doi:10.1080/10911359.2020.1783419

Cited by 28 publications

(35 citation statements)

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“…Preventive behavior is studied within the framework of various theories of health behavior. This study integrates the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), developed by Rogers ( 1975 ) and is still widely used in health psychology research (Miraja et al, 2019 ; Adunlin et al, 2020 ; Kowalski and Black, 2021 ). Preventive behavior can be defined as a combination of beliefs, attitudes and experience that motivate people to take actions in order to maintain and improve their prevention (Werle, 2011 ; Kowalski and Black, 2021 ; Rad et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preventive behavior can be defined as a combination of beliefs, attitudes and experience that motivate people to take actions in order to maintain and improve their prevention (Werle, 2011 ; Kowalski and Black, 2021 ; Rad et al, 2021 ). Aspects of preventive behavior such as social/physical distancing and observance of personal hygiene have become relevant in the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Adunlin et al, 2020 ; Barati et al, 2020 ). Preventive behavior during a pandemic is essential not only for protection of individuals from being infected, but also for reduction of spread of the virus among the population, thus protecting vulnerable groups and society as a whole (Chuang et al, 2015 ; Kowalski and Black, 2021 ; Ranjit et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a cross-sectional study conducted in 10 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found a statistically significant correlation between threat appraisal and preventive behavior (such as washing hands, wearing a face mask, and physical distancing) (Dryhurst et al, 2020 ). According to PMT, threat assessment is associated with fear (Miraja et al, 2019 ; Adunlin et al, 2020 ; Taheri-Kharameh et al, 2020 ; Rad et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors Related to COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors: A Structural Equation Model

et al. 2021

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Background: While COVID-19 has rapidly spread around the world, and vaccines are not widely available to the general population, the World Health Organization outlines preventive behavior as the most effective way to limit the rapid spread of the virus. Preventive behavior is associated with a number of factors that both encourage and discourage prevention.Aim: The aim of this research was to study COVID-19 threat appraisal, fear of COVID-19, trust in COVID-19 information sources, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and the relationship of socio-demographic variables (gender, age, level of education, place of residence, and employment status) to COVID-19 preventive behavior.Methods: The data originate from a national cross-sectional online survey (N = 2,608) undertaken in July 2020. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Results: COVID-19 threat appraisal, trust in COVID-19 information sources, and fear of COVID-19 are all significant predictors of COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Together they explain 26.7% of the variance of this variable. COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs significantly negatively predict COVID-19 threat appraisal (R2 = 0.206) and trust in COVID-19 information sources (R2 = 0.190). COVID-19 threat appraisal contributes significantly and directly to the explanation of the fear of COVID-19 (R2 = 0.134). Directly, as well as mediated by COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, threat appraisal predicts trust in COVID-19 information sources (R2 = 0.190). The relationship between COVID-19 threat appraisal and COVID-19 preventive behaviors is partially mediated by fear of COVID-19 (indirect effect 28.6%) and trust in information sources (15.8%). Socio-demographic variables add very little in prediction of COVID-19 preventive behavior.Conclusions: The study results demonstrate that COVID-19 threat appraisal is the most important factor associated with COVID-19 preventive behavior. Those Latvian residents with higher COVID-19 threat appraisal, experienced higher levels of fear of COVID-19, had more trust in COVID-19 information sources, and were more actively involved in following COVID-19 preventive behaviors. COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs negatively predict COVID-19 threat appraisal and trust in COVID-19 information sources, but not the COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Socio-demographic factors do not play an important role here.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors Related to COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors: A Structural Equation Model

et al. 2021

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“…Particularly, this study aimed to examine whether increase in COVID-19 cases is associated with decreased crime incidence. We speculate that increase in COVID-19 cases is likely to reduce crime rate because: 1) increasing COVID-19 cases enhance the fear of COVID-19, which could facilitate the implementation of COVID-19 containing policies according to the protection motivation theory (PMT) [18]; 2) areas with a higher infection rate are likely to be allocated with more police forces, which could curb crime incidence as well [19]. Therefore, we conducted a study to empirically validate this speculation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Patterns of COVID-19 Incidence in Relation to Crime Rate Across London

Sun

Huang

Yuan

et al. 2021

IJGI

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COVID-19 containment policies are not only curbing the spread of COVID-19 but also changing human behavior. According to the routine activity theory, owing to lockdown, the closure of entertainment sites (e.g., pubs and bars), an increase in stay-at-home time, and an increase in police patrols are likely to influence chance of committing a crime. In this study, we aimed to further examine the spatial association of COVID-19 infection rate and crime rate. Particularly, we empirically validated the speculation that increase in COVID-19 cases is likely to reduce crime rate. In the empirical study, we investigated whether and how COVID-19 infection rate is spatially associated with crime rate in London. As the spatial data used are mainly areal data, we adopted a spatial regression mode (i.e., the “random effects eigenvector spatial filtering model”) to investigate the spatial associations after controlling for the socioeconomic factors. More specifically, we investigated the associations for all the four crime categories in three consequent months (March, April, and May of 2020). The empirical results indicate that 1) crime rates of the four categories have no statistically significant associations with COVID-19 infection rate in March; 2) violence-against-the-person rate has no statistically significant association with COVID-19 infection rate; and 3) robbery rate, burglary rate, and theft and handling rate have a statistically significant and negative association with COVID-19 infection rate in both April and May.

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“…Research is increasingly exploring the links between fear and COVID-19 preventive behaviors (Adunlin et al, 2020). Fear of COVID-19 and anxiety about the disease predict the adoption of health preventive behaviors (Harper et al, 2020).…”

Section: Health Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Longitudinal Analysis of Handwashing and Mask-Wearing During COVID-19

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic has seen health preventive behaviors to prevent spread of the virus become highly politicized in the United States. A clear division exists between Democrats favoring health preventive measures and Republicans often defying such measures. Amid increasing fear of the virus, the 2020 United States presidential election became central to how the pandemic should be managed. This longitudinal study examines whether the frequency of handwashing and mask-wearing changed after the United States election. The study further explores whether political partisanship played a part in the change. Results show that handwashing and mask-wearing increased among Democrats after the election. However, Republican’s use of masks and handwashing decreased. These results are explained in terms of loyalty to outgoing President Trump among Republicans and renewed feelings of efficacy among Democrats.

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Using the protection motivation theory to examine the effects of fear arousal on the practice of social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak in rural areas

Abstract: The commentary elucidates the importance of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) as a theoretical framework to encourage the practice of social distancing in rural areas as the world grappled with the pandemic of COVID-19 outbreak.

Cited by 28 publications

References 8 publications

Factors Related to COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors: A Structural Equation Model

Factors Related to COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors: A Structural Equation Model

Spatial Patterns of COVID-19 Incidence in Relation to Crime Rate Across London

A Longitudinal Analysis of Handwashing and Mask-Wearing During COVID-19

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