Human responses to Covid-19: The role of optimism bias, perceived severity, and anxiety.

ABSTRACT: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the governments are trying to contain the spread with non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing rules, restrictions, and lockdowns. In an effort to identify factors that may influence population adherence to NPIs, we examined the role of optimism bias, anxiety, and perceived severity of the situation in relation to engagement in protective behavioral changes and satisfaction with governments' response to this pandemic. We conducted an online survey in 935 participants (M _age  = 34.29; 68.88% females) that was disseminated in April and May 2020 in the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, and USA. Individuals with high optimism bias engaged less in behavioral changes, whereas individuals with high levels of anxiety and

SUBMITTER: Fragkaki I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7891080 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature