scholarly journals Age Differences in Preferences for Fear-Enhancing Versus Fear-Reducing News in a Global Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 932-932
Author(s):  
Anthony Villalba ◽  
Jennifer Stanley ◽  
Jennifer Turner ◽  
Michael Vale
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
News Article ◽  
Protective Behavior ◽  
Protective Behaviors

Abstract Older adults (OA) prefer positive over negative information in a lab setting, compared to young adults (i.e., positivity effects; YA). The extent to which OA avoid negative events or information relevant for their health and safety is not clear. We first investigated age differences in preferences for fear-enhancing versus fear-reducing news articles during the Ebola Outbreak of 2014. We built upon this pilot study to further investigate this research question during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, 164 YA (18-30 years) and 171 OA (60-80 years) responded to an online survey about their preferences, feelings, and behaviors related to the COVID-19 pandemic across 13-days during the initial peak of the pandemic in the United States. Both YA and OA preferred to read positive over negative news about the coronavirus, but OA were even more likely than YA to prefer the positive news article. No age differences in the fear of contraction were found, but OA engaged in more health-protective behaviors compared to YA. Additionally, media engagement was related to fear for both age groups, with social media engagement, specifically, emerging as a key moderating factor for protective behavior change. Although OA may not fear or seek out negative information related to a health concern; they still engage in more protective health behaviors compared to YA. In this study, positivity effects are shown to exist within a health-related event, but OA appeared to still attend to enough negative information about COVID-19 to avoid impairing their health protective behaviors.

scholarly journals Age Differences in Preferences for Fear-Enhancing Vs. Fear-Reducing News in a Disease Outbreak

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony A. Villalba ◽  
Jennifer Tehan Stanley ◽  
Jennifer R. Turner ◽  
Michael T. Vale ◽  
Michelle L. Houston
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
News Article ◽  
Protective Behavior ◽  
Health Crisis

Older adults (OA) prefer positive over negative information in a lab setting, compared to young adults (YA; i.e., positivity effects). The extent to which OA avoid negative events or information relevant for their health and safety is not clear. We first investigated age differences in preferences for fear-enhancing vs. fear-reducing news articles during the Ebola Outbreak of 2014. We were able to collect data from 15 YA and 13 OA during this acute health event. Compared to YA, OA were more likely to read the fear-enhancing article, select hand-sanitizer over lip balm, and reported greater fear of Ebola. We further investigated our research question during the COVID-19 pandemic with 164 YA (18–30 years) and 171 OA (60–80 years). Participants responded to an online survey about the COVID-19 pandemic across 13 days during the initial peak of the pandemic in the United States (U.S.). Both YA and OA preferred to read positive over negative news about the coronavirus, but OA were even more likely than YA to prefer the positive news article. No age differences in the fear of contraction were found, but OA engaged in more health-protective behaviors compared to YA. Although OA may not always report greater fear than YA or seek out negative information related to a health concern, they still engage in protective health behaviors. Thus, although positivity effects were observed in attention and emotional reports (in the COVID-19 study), OA still modified their behaviors more than YA (giveaway in both studies, and health-protective behavior change in the COVID-19 study), suggesting that positivity effects did not hamper OA ability to respond to a health crisis.

scholarly journals Loneliness and Its Association With Social Media Use During the COVID-19 Outbreak

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512110338
Author(s):  
Tore Bonsaksen ◽  
Mary Ruffolo ◽  
Janni Leung ◽  
Daicia Price ◽  
Hilde Thygesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Emotional Loneliness ◽  
Social Loneliness

Social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic changed social interaction for many and increased the risk of loneliness in the general population. Social media use has been ambiguously related to loneliness, and associations may differ by age. The study aimed to examine loneliness and its association with social media use within different age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia during April/May 2020, and 3,810 participants aged 18 years or above were recruited. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between social media use and social and emotional loneliness within separate age groups. Emotional loneliness was higher among young adults and among those who used social media several times daily. Adjusting by sociodemographic variables, using more types of social media was associated with lower social loneliness among the oldest participants, and with higher emotional loneliness among the youngest participants. Among middle-aged participants, using social media more frequently was associated with lower social loneliness. We found that the associations between social media use and loneliness varied by age. Older people’s engagement on social media may be a resource to reduce loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. We observed higher levels of loneliness among high-frequent social media users of younger age.

scholarly journals Contrasting the Perceived Severity of COVID-19 and HIV Infection in an Online Survey of Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men During the U.S. COVID-19 Epidemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 155798832095754
Author(s):  
Rob Stephenson ◽  
Tanaka M. D. Chavanduka ◽  
Matthew T. Rosso ◽  
Stephen P. Sullivan ◽  
Renée A. Pitter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Perceived Severity ◽  
Banner Advertisements ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
Sex With Men

While there is evidence of variations in the risk perceptions of COVID-19 and that they are linked to both engagement in health-protective behaviors and poor mental health outcomes, there has been a lack of attention to how individuals perceive the risk of COVID-19 relative to other infectious diseases. This paper examines the relative perceptions of the severity of COVID-19 and HIV among a sample of U.S. gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSMs). The “Love and Sex in the Time of COVID-19” survey was conducted online from April 2020 to May 2020. GBMSMs were recruited through paid banner advertisements featured on social networking platforms, resulting in a sample size of 696. The analysis considers differences in responses to two scales: the Perceived Severity of HIV Infection and the Perceived Severity of COVID-19 Infection. Participants perceived greater seriousness for HIV infection (mean 46.67, range 17–65) than for COVID-19 infection (mean 38.81, range 13–62). Some items reflecting more proximal impacts of infection (anxiety, loss of sleep, and impact on employment) were similar for HIV and COVID-19. Those aged over 25 and those who perceived higher prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States or their state were more likely to report COVID-19 as more severe than HIV. There is a need to develop nuanced public health messages for GBMSMs that convey the ongoing simultaneous health threats of both HIV and COVID-19.

scholarly journals Age Differences in Risk and Resilience Factors in COVID-19-Related Stress

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Pearman ◽  
MacKenzie L Hughes ◽  
Emily L Smith ◽  
Shevaun D Neupert
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Proactive Coping ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Resilience Factors ◽  
Related Stress ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

Abstract Objectives Older adults are at higher risk for death and infirmity from COVID-19 than younger and middle-aged adults. The current study examines COVID-19-specific anxiety and proactive coping as potential risk and resilience factors that may be differentially important for younger and older adults in understanding stress experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Five hundred and fifteen adults aged 20–79 years in the United States reported on their anxiety about developing COVID-19, proactive coping, and stress related to COVID-19 in an online survey. Results Although there were no age differences in stress levels, anxiety about developing COVID-19 was associated with more COVID-19 stress for older adults relative to younger adults, but proactive coping was associated with less COVID-19 stress for older adults relative to younger adults. Discussion Our results suggest that anxiety might function as a risk factor, whereas proactive coping may function as a resilience factor for older adults’ COVID-19 stress. We encourage future context-dependent investigations into mental health among older adults during this pandemic and beyond.

Privacy and trust in Facebook photo sharing: age and gender differences

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqdas Malik ◽  
Kari Hiekkanen ◽  
Marko Nieminen
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Photo Sharing ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Gender And Age Differences ◽  
And Gender

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine gender and age differences regarding various aspects of privacy, trust, and activity on one of the most popular Facebook activity – “photo sharing.” Design/methodology/approach The data were collected using an online survey hosted by a web-based survey service for three weeks during December 2014-January 2015. The target audience comprised of Facebook users over 18 years engaged in sharing their photos on the platform. Findings Women and young Facebook users are significantly more concerned about the privacy of their shared photos. Meanwhile, users from older age groups are less active in using the site, in sharing photos, and in taking privacy-related protective measures. Interestingly, despite having more privacy concerns, young Facebook users display higher trust levels toward the platform than older users. Overall, in the study, there was an extremely significant difference in privacy attitudes among people under and over 35 years of age. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is new knowledge regarding the gender and age differences in various privacy-related aspects, trust, and activity. Findings from the study broadens the overall understanding of how these issues positively/negatively influence the photo-sharing activity on Facebook.

scholarly journals PROTECTIVE BEHAVIOR AGAINST COVID-19 AMONG VIETNAMESE PEOPLE IN THE SOCIAL DISTANCING CAMPAIGN A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
AISDL
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Protective Behavior ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Precautionary Measures ◽  
Gender Knowledge

In the global fight against the rapid spread of COVID-19, a variety of unprecedented preventive measures have been implemented across the globe, as well as in Vietnam. How Vietnamese people respond to threats to their health and life remains unclear. For this reason, the current study aims to examine Vietnamese people’s protective behavior and its factors. Based on 1,798 online survey respondents’ data collected on the last three days of the nationwide social distancing campaign in mid-April, it is found that gender, knowledge of COVID-19 and preventive measures, and attitudes towards the COVID-19 prevention policies are the three main factors of participants’ protective behaviors. We also find that males are less likely than females to adopt precautionary measures. People who are knowledgeable about COVID-19 may have inappropriate practices towards it. Further research is needed to examine other determinants of protective behaviors to provide more useful information for authorities, public health policy-makers, and healthcare workers to deliver the best practices to control COVID-19 in our country.

scholarly journals The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 in Italy: Worry Leads to Protective Behavior, but at the Cost of Anxiety

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Prete ◽  
Lilybeth Fontanesi ◽  
Piero Porcelli ◽  
Luca Tommasi
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
World Health ◽  
Anxiety State ◽  
Protective Behavior ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost

The World Health Organization defined COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, due to the spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in all continents. Italy had already witnessed a very fast spread that brought the Government to place the entire country under quarantine on March 11, reaching more than 30,700 fatalities in 2 months. We hypothesized that the pandemic and related compulsory quarantine would lead to an increase of anxiety state and protective behaviors to avoid infections. We aimed to investigate whether protective behaviors might have been enhanced or limited by anxiety and emotional reactions to previous experience of stressful conditions. We collected data from 618 Italian participants, by means of an online survey. Participants were asked to rate their level of worry for the pandemic, and to complete two questionnaires measuring the anxiety level: the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI-Y) and the Pre-traumatic stress reaction checklist (Pre-Cl). Finally, the respondents were also asked to report about their compliance with protective behaviors suggested to avoid the spread of the virus (e.g., washing hands). Results show that respondents with higher levels of worry reported higher levels of anxiety and pre-traumatic reactions, with positive correlations among the three measurements, and that higher frequency of the three protective behaviors were put in place by respondents with higher levels of worry. Moreover, regression analysis showed that worry for COVID-19 was most predicted by age, anxiety levels, and Pre-traumatic stress. These results could be interpreted in an evolutionary framework, in which the level of worry leads persons to become more cautious (protective behaviors) maximizing long-term survival at the cost of short-term dysregulation (anxiety).

scholarly journals The Impact of Age on Mobile Technology Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 1026-1026
Author(s):  
Yi Lin ◽  
Graham Rowles
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Contact ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Use Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic led to quarantines and mandatory spatial distancing; people of all ages were encouraged to use technologies instead of actual human contact as part of COVID-19 prevention. The promotion of mobile applications (apps) during the pandemic influenced mobile technology use behavior. This study explored age differences in mobile technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic. A pilot-tested survey was distributed using online survey software. Persons surveyed were 35 years of age or older, currently living in the United States of America with experience using mobile technology. Survey questions pertained to mobile technology use frequency and factors influencing the decision to use mobile technology. The nationwide response included 1212 individuals. The average age of participants is 56.12±12.26 years old (female: male = 1.24:1). Responses were categorized participants into three age groups, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 or older. Daily mobile technology use frequency increased significantly (p<0.01) for all groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, with participants 35 to 49 having a significantly higher (p<0.01) use frequency than other groups. Regarding factors influencing the decision to use mobile technology, 64.1% of respondents aged 50 to 64 identified the necessity of using this technology during the pandemic as a significant factor, and 64.0% of participants in age 65 or older reported that the availability of functions on mobile devices is critical. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in mobile technology use with people in different age groups differentially valuing the factors that affected their user behavior.

scholarly journals Descriptive Evidence of COVID-19’s Impact on Black LGBTQ Adults Amidst Ongoing Health Inequities

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 1039-1039
Author(s):  
Charleigh Flohr ◽  
Cassandra Burton
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Important Health ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Community Marketing

Abstract Black LGBTQ people significant challenges and discrimination as they face the barriers of living at the intersection of multiply marginalized identities, which have worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. At a baseline, LGBTQ people exhibit elevated risk of being negatively impacted by the pandemic across health, economic and other social outcomes (Cahill et al., 2020; Heslin & Hall, 2021; Human Rights Campaign, 2020). Black LGBTQ people have also suffered significant economic losses (Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2020) . Methods The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and AARP supported and partnered with Community Marketing & Insights to conduct a survey of 1,815 Black LGBTQ adults in the United States. The online survey was fielded between September 21 and October 30, 2020. Many Black LGBTQ adult participants report healthcare discrimination in the last three years, with 19% reporting racial discrimination and 11% reporting sexual orientation-based discrimination. Furthermore, 31% of Black transgender adults report healthcare discrimination in the last three years. Preventing or treating COVID-19 is an important health concern to 67% of Black LGBTQ adults aged fifty-five and older, 63% of Black LGBTQ adults aged thirty-five to fifty-four and 53% aged eighteen to thirty-four. Overall, Black LGBTQ adults report being significantly impacted by the pandemic, including negative impacts on their social health (60%), mental health (44%), the physical health of their close friends and family (33%), their finances (30%), and their employment status (22%). Overall, one-quarter (25%) of Black LGBTQ adults had at least one close friend or family member die from coronavirus illness.

LGBTQ+ College Students’ Engagement in COVID-Protective and COVID-Risk Behaviors

2021 ◽  
pp. 216769682110393
Author(s):  
S. E. Lawrence ◽  
T. L. Walters ◽  
A. N. Clark ◽  
Y. Zhang ◽  
V. Hanna-Walker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Liberal State ◽  
At Home

Characteristics of emerging adulthood may make college students less likely to engage in COVID-protective behaviors, a public health concern given that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) students may be particularly vulnerable to complications related to COVID-19. To identify individual and contextual factors related to COVID-protective behaviors among a sample of LGBTQ+ college students in the United States, we examined differences in COVID-protective and -risk behaviors by gender identity, living arrangement, statewide stay at home orders, and political liberalism of the student’s current state. Although engagement in COVID-protective behaviors was high overall, students who identified as men, did not live with a parent, lived in a state without a stay at home order, and/or lived in a less liberal state engaged in fewer COVID-protective behaviors and more frequent COVID-risk behaviors. Findings underscore the importance of clear public health messaging around COVID-protective behaviors that targets especially vulnerable college students.

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