Estimated probabilities of positive, vs. negative, events show separable correlations with COVID-19 preventive behaviours.

ABSTRACT: Research has associated optimism with better health-protective behaviours, but few studies have measured optimism or pessimism directly, by asking participants to estimate probabilities of events. We used these probability estimates to examine how optimism and/or pessimism relate to protecting oneself from COVID-19. When COVID-19 first reached Turkey, we asked a snowball sample of 494 Istanbul adults how much they engaged in various COVID-protective behaviours. They also estimated the probabilities of their catching COVID-19, and of other positive and negative events happening to them. Estimated probability of general positive events (optimism) correlated positively with officially-recommended helpful behaviours (e.g. wearing masks), but not with less-helpful behaviours (e.g. sharing 'alte

SUBMITTER: Booth RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8866078 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature