scholarly journals Looking out for Myself: Exploring the Relationship Between Conspiracy Mentality, Perceived Personal Risk and COVID-19 Prevention Measures

Author(s):  
Gaëlle Marinthe ◽  
Genavee Brown ◽  
Sylvain Delouvée ◽  
Daniel Jolley

Objectives. This research examined how conspiracy mentality may affect compliance with preventive health measures necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and the underlying motivations to comply. Design and Method. We conducted two cross-sectional studies (Study 1 N = 762, Study 2 N = 229) on a French population, measuring conspiracy mentality, compliance with preventive health measures, and perceived risks related to COVID-19. We also measured motivations to comply with preventive measures in Study 2.Results. We show that people high in conspiracy mentality are likely to engage in non-normative prevention behaviours (Study 1), but are less willing to comply with extreme preventive behaviours that are government-driven (Study 2). However, we demonstrate that a perceived risk to oneself (risk of death) and a motivation to protect oneself can act as a suppressor: conspiracy mentality is linked with an increase in the perception of risk to oneself, which in turn, is associated with normative compliance. We also find that perceived risk of death explains the relationship between conspiracy mentality and non-normative prevention behaviours. Conclusions. Our studies showcase how people high in conspiracy theorizing may (dis)engage with prevention behaviours, but that perceived risk and motivation to protect oneself could increase these individuals’ compliance.

Children ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Xin Yu Yang ◽  
Rui Ning Gong ◽  
Samuel Sassine ◽  
Maxime Morsa ◽  
Alexandra Sonia Tchogna ◽  
...  

To explore factors influencing adolescents and young adults’ (AYAs) risk perception of COVID-19 and adherence to public health measures, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey of AYAs (14–22 years old) from Quebec (Canada) recruited through school and community partners in April 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included 3037 participants (mean age = 17.7 years, 74.6% female). AYAs had higher mean (standard deviation (SD)) risk perception of COVID-19 for their relatives (8.2 (1.9)) than for themselves (5.6 (2.6)) (p < 0.001). Factors associated with higher risk perception included higher disease knowledge (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.11), presence of chronic disease (aOR 2.31, 95%CI 1.82–2.93) and use of immunosuppressants (aOR 2.53, 95%CI 1.67–3.87). AYAs with a higher risk perception (aOR 1.06, 95%CI 1.02–1.10) those wishing to help flatten the disease curve (aOR 1.18, 95%CI 1.12–1.25) or to protect their family/friends (aOR 1.14, 95%CI 1.05–1.24) were more likely to engage in preventive behaviors. Self-perceived risk and desire to protect others were significantly associated with adherence to preventive measures among youth. These findings may help inform public health messaging to AYAs in the current and future pandemics.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260287
Author(s):  
Nadim Sharif ◽  
Khalid J. Alzahrani ◽  
Shamsun Nahar Ahmed ◽  
Rubayet Rayhan Opu ◽  
Nayan Ahmed ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a major public health issue globally. Preventive health measures against COVID-19 can reduce the health burden significantly by containing the transmission. A few research have been undertaken on the effectiveness of preventive strategies such as mask use, hand washing, and keeping social distance in preventing COVID-19 transmission. The main aim of this study was to determine the association of the preventive measures with the reduction of transmission of COVID-19 among people. Data was collected during January 06, 2021 to May 10, 2021 from 1690 participants in Bangladesh. A validated questionnaire was used to collect both the online and offline data. Chi-square test and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association among the variables. The prevalence of COVID-19 was 11.5% (195 of 1690) among the population. Age, gender, occupation and monthly income of the participants were significantly associated with the likelihood of following the preventive measures. The risk of infection and death reduced significantly among the participants following preventive measures (p = .001). The odds of incidence was lower among the participants using masks properly (OR: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01–0.43), maintaining social distances (OR: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.01–0.33), avoiding crowded places (OR: 0.07, 95% CI: 0.02–0.19) and hand shaking (OR: 0.17, 95% CI: 0.09–0.41). This study suggests that preventive health measures are significantly associated with the reduction of the risk of infection of COVID-19. Findings from this study will help the policymakers to take appropriate steps to curb the health burden of COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Menglin Jiang ◽  
Dandan Gong ◽  
Yu Fan

AbstractElevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels may increase the risk of prehypertension. However, the findings from these studies remain conflicting. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between SUA levels and risk of prehypertension by conducting a meta-analysis. We conducted a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, and the Wangfang database without language restrictions through May 2015. Observational studies assessing the relationship between SUA levels and prevalence of prehypertension were included. Pooled adjust odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of prehypertension were calculated for the highest vs. lowest SUA levels. Prehypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) ranging from 120 to 139 mmHg or diastolic BP ranging from 80 to 89 mmHg. Eight cross-sectional studies with a total of 21,832 prehypertensive individuals were included. Meta-analysis showed that elevated SUA levels were associated with increased risk of prehypertension (OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.42–2.38) comparing the highest vs. lowest level of SUA levels. Subgroup analyses showed that elevated SUA levels significantly increased the risk of prehypertension among men (OR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.12–2.21) and women (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.17–2.16). Elevated SUA levels are positively associated with the risk of prehypertension in the general population. However, more well-designed longitudinal studies are needed before a definitive conclusion can be drawn due to the cross-sectional studies included are susceptible to bias.


2013 ◽  
Vol 202 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. S. Anglin ◽  
Zainab Samaan ◽  
Stephen D. Walter ◽  
Sarah D. McDonald

BackgroundThere is conflicting evidence about the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and depression, and a systematic assessment of the literature has not been available.AimsTo determine the relationship, if any, between vitamin D deficiency and depression.MethodA systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomised controlled trials was conducted.ResultsOne case-control study, ten cross-sectional studies and three cohort studies with a total of 31 424 participants were analysed. Lower vitamin D levels were found in people with depression compared with controls (SMD = 0.60,95% Cl 0.23–0.97) and there was an increased odds ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories in the cross-sectional studies (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.0–1.71). The cohort studies showed a significantly increased hazard ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories (HR=2.21, 95% CI 1.40–3.49).ConclusionsOur analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that low vitamin D concentration is associated with depression, and highlight the need for randomised controlled trials of vitamin D for the prevention and treatment of depression to determine whether this association is causal.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisy Massey ◽  
Chenxi Huang ◽  
Yuan Lu ◽  
Alina Cohen ◽  
Yahel Oren ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has continued to spread in the US and globally. Closely monitoring public engagement and perception of COVID-19 and preventive measures using social media data could provide important information for understanding the progress of current interventions and planning future programs. OBJECTIVE To measure the public’s behaviors and perceptions regarding COVID-19 and its daily life effects during the recent 5 months of the pandemic. METHODS Natural language processing (NLP) algorithms were used to identify COVID-19 related and unrelated topics in over 300 million online data sources from June 15 to November 15, 2020. Posts in the sample were geotagged, and sensitivity and specificity were both calculated to validate the classification of posts. The prevalence of discussion regarding these topics was measured over this time period and compared to daily case rates in the US. RESULTS The final sample size included 9,065,733 posts, 70% of which were sourced from the US. In October and November, discussion including mentions of COVID-19 and related health behaviors did not increase as it had from June to September, despite an increase in COVID-19 daily cases in the US beginning in October. Additionally, counter to reports from March and April, discussion was more focused on daily life topics (69%), compared with COVID-19 in general (37%) and COVID-19 public health measures (20%). CONCLUSIONS There was a decline in COVID-19-related social media discussion sourced mainly from the US, even as COVID-19 cases in the US have increased to the highest rate since the beginning of the pandemic. Targeted public health messaging may be needed to ensure engagement in public health prevention measures until a vaccine is widely available to the public.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradipta Gangopadhyay ◽  

Purpose- In pursuit for seeking the understanding of the implications of Hofstede’s cultural dimension, the current study assesses the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and incidence of self- medication among the consumers in Pakistan. Methodology/Sampling- The research methodology for the study is triangulation of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Constructs were espoused from previous studies however adaptation was made to suit the researcher’s needs. The instruments consisted of close ended questions only. Cross sectional data for the study has been collected through convenience sampling from a sample size of 300 students studying in different business schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Findings- We finally conclude that the working professionals enrolled in business schools generally tend to refrain from self- medication because they consider it as risky and that it that could have serious health consequences. However it was found that people tend to self- medicate for common type of ailments based on their previous experiences. The findings also supports are assumption that high score on uncertainty avoidance means low score on behavioral intentions. Practical Implications- The findings of the study suggest a significant relationship between behavioral intentions and uncertainty avoidance, measured through perceived risk and risk aversive behavior. The results of the study posit a negative relation between dependent and independent variables.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Zeng ◽  
Feifei Li ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Yinyue Liu ◽  
Bin Dong ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Infectious diseases are a priority in public health. Improving the knowledge and preventive measures of children and adolescents is important for disease prevention. Information sources play a crucial role in delivering disease-related knowledge. However, there is limited national-level evidence of the knowledge, information sources, and preventive measures in response to infectious diseases in Chinese children and adolescents. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and interrelationships of knowledge, preventive measures of infectious diseases, and the information sources among Chinese children and adolescents. METHODS Participants in this cross-sectional study were embedded in a baseline survey of a national multi-centered cluster randomized controlled trial in seven provinces in China, using questionnaires to evaluate their level of knowledge and prevention measures, and the main source of information on infectious diseases. RESULTS A total of 30,287 children aged 6-17 years were enrolled. The mean scores of knowledge and preventive measures for infectious diseases were 2.35(SD=0.93) and 12.16 (SD=2.52), respectively. The majority of children and adolescents received information of infectious diseases through school (86.7%) and related groups (86.5%), followed by electronic media (73.4%). The results indicated that there were significant differences in knowledge and preventive measures among children and adolescents with different gender, age, children situation, living situation, residence, region, parents’ age and education level (P<0.05). In addition, multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender, age, living situation, residential area, region, mother's age, father's education level, knowledge score and main information source could better predict the score of preventive measures. Living with parents (vs Not living with parents; β=0.055 P<0.001), household income of 5000-10000 yuan (vs. Less than 5000 yuan; 0.024, P<0.001), south areas (vs. North: β=0.021), mother's age>35 years (vs.≤35years; 35-45 years: β=0.020, P=0.008; ≥45 years: β=0.022, P=0.005), father's education in high school/vocational school (vs. Junior high school and below; β=0.024, P=0.001), and high knowledge score (β=0.102, P<0.001) were more likely to have a high infectious disease prevention measures score(P<0.05). On the contrary, males (vs Females; β=-0.003, P<0.001), older (vs. 6-8 years; 12-14 years: β=-0.130, P<0.001;15-17years: β=-0.253, P<0.001), rural areas (vs. Urban; β=-0.023, P=0.001), central areas (vs. North; β=-0.036, P<0.001), and fathers aged 35-45 years (vs. ≤35 years; β=-0.021, P=0.009) were significantly associated with low infectious disease prevention measure scores(P<0.05). Interestingly, children or adolescents who accept information about infectious diseases through schools (vs. No; Yes: β=0.054, P<0.001) and paper media (vs. No; Yes: β=0.054, P<0.001) tend to score higher on measures to prevent infectious diseases(P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The national survey provides an overview of knowledge, information sources, and preventive measures in response to infectious diseases in Chinese children and adolescents. The research findings add values to the future intervention and policy-making for promoting the preventive measures of infectious diseases in children and adolescents.


Author(s):  
Michelle F. Wright

The first objective of the present study was to describe the nature of cyber aggression and victimization among emerging adults by focusing on what digital technologies are used and the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. The second objective of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal, reciprocal relationships between cyber victimization, cyber aggression, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm, depression, loneliness, anxiety, and grade point average among emerging adults over four years, using cross-lagged modeling. The findings of the study were consistent with cross-sectional studies, with the present study revealing longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between cyber aggression, cyber victimizations, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm, depression, anxiety, and GPA over four years. Additional research attention should be given to understanding more about these associations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3471-3491
Author(s):  
Anthony E. Coy ◽  
Jody L. Davis ◽  
Jeffrey D. Green ◽  
Paul E. Etcheverry

A dyadic approach to studying relationship dynamics yields considerably more insights than examining each partner separately. Yet relatively little research has examined dyadic models of commitment, despite commitment being essential to relationship persistence. Accordingly, we tested a dyadic version of the investment model of commitment. In two cross-sectional studies of couples and one experiment, we tested the role of partner investments and perceived partner investments as novel antecedents of commitment. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that greater partner investments were related to greater levels of individuals’ commitment, while controlling for individuals’ own satisfaction with, investments in, and alternatives to the relationship. Study 3 revealed that partner-reported investments predicted commitment independent of perceived partner investments. The findings advance the investment model beyond the individual level, emphasizing the need to examine dyadic elements of relationships.


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