Fatalism in the context of COVID-19: Perceiving coronavirus as a death sentence predicts reluctance to perform recommended preventive behaviors

Jimenez, Tyler; Restar, Arjee; Helm, Peter; Cross, Rebekah Israel; Barath, Deanna; Arndt, Jamie

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100615

Cited by 74 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…While a fatalistic message arguing that the pandemic is unstoppable and that mitigation efforts may do more harm than good increased fatalism, an optimistic message that drew attention to the effectiveness of coping efforts and collective connectedness in times of need reduced fatalism. Furthermore, several recent studies reported that more fatalistic beliefs about the infectiousness of COVID-19 were less likely to comply with preventive measures (55,56). In Israel, however, higher fear of COVID-19 was unrelated to fatalism, which differs from the findings in the Swiss sample as well as the US sample of Hayes and Clerk (54).…”

Section: The Role Of Fatalismmentioning

confidence: 75%

Negative Affect, Fatalism, and Perceived Institutional Betrayal in Times of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Control Beliefs

et al. 2020

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Background: A growing number of studies report that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in diverse aversive psychological reactions and created a global mental health crisis. However, the specific mechanisms underlying the negative emotional reactions as well as the differences between countries are only beginning to be explored. The present study examined the association of COVID-19-related fear and negative affect in Israel and Switzerland. The mediating roles of three control beliefs were explored, namely, fatalism, locus of control, and perceived institutional betrayal. Method: General population samples of 595 Swiss and 639 Israeli participants were recruited and completed an online self-report survey. Moderated Mediation using multigroup path analysis models for the two samples were conducted and compared using AMOS. Results: The multigroup path model had excellent fit for both samples. The different paths were moderated by country affiliation. Higher levels of COVID-19-related fear were associated with negative affect to an equal extent in both samples. COVID-19-related fear was associated with higher reports of institutional betrayal and a lower locus of control in both samples. Higher COVID-19-related fear was associated with lower fatalism in the Swiss sample only. In both samples, institutional betrayal mediated the association between COVID-19-related fear and negative affect, however, locus of control was a mediator in the Israeli sample only. Conclusion: The current results suggest that the reaction of the government was of crucial importance with regard to the emotional state of the two populations. Interestingly, while in the context of adversity fatalism is generally considered a risk factor for mental health, during the time of the pandemic it seems to have had protective qualities among the Swiss population. Interventions that strengthen the personal locus of control have the potential to mitigate the negative affect in Israel but not in Switzerland. Despite the fact that COVID-19 is a global phenomenon, prevention and intervention strategies should be adjusted to local contexts.

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Section: The Role Of Fatalismmentioning

confidence: 75%

Negative Affect, Fatalism, and Perceived Institutional Betrayal in Times of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Control Beliefs

et al. 2020

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“…In addition, information overload negatively influences healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as the consumption of fruits and vegetables and regular exercise [ 5 ]. Although little has been documented on behavioral intentions to prevent COVID-19, Jimenez et al [ 30 ] recently showed that a belief associating coronavirus with death negatively influences an individual’s intention to take preventive behaviors, such as social distancing and handwashing. Thus, if the overloaded information generates such a belief, it also has a potency to reverse the willingness to perform prevention behaviors.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antecedents and Consequences of Information Overload in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hong

Kim

2020

IJERPH

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The global outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020 has significantly affected the information environment as well as the daily life of individuals across the world, with information about COVID-19 dominating all media channels. The information provided at the time of a health crisis like COVID-19 is critical in helping people learn about the disease and the recommendations to prevent infection. However, studies have shown that when people are overwhelmed by too much information (referred to as ‘information overload’), this leads to adverse effects. This study examined the antecedents and consequences of information overload in the context of COVID-19. A survey was conducted among 627 residents in Seoul, South Korea, one of the earliest affected countries in the global outbreak. The results showed that cognitive capacity and the frequency of online news use and interpersonal communication were significant predictors of information overload. Information overload influenced how information is processed; it was associated with the tendency toward greater heuristic processing and less systematic processing. In addition, people were more likely to enact prevention behaviors when the information was processed systematically, as opposed to heuristically. The results are discussed considering both the theoretical and practical implications.

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“…In contrast to the beneficial effects of knowledge on NPIs, research indicates that some types of illness-related beliefs can interfere with the adoption of protective behaviors. Specifically, a high level of certainty that one will become infected is associated with lower adherence to health-protective behaviors ( 25 – 28 ). Strong illness expectations may represent the belief that fate, rather than the individual, controls whether the individual contracts the illness, making protective behaviors relatively unimportant ( 25 , 26 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Understanding COVID-19: The Role of Knowledge in Promoting Adherence to Protective Behaviors

Miller

Gee

Katz

2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: Past research suggests that knowledge supports- but strong illness expectations thwart- adoption of protective behaviors (e.g., handwashing). Strong illness expectations may place COVID-19 essential workers at risk. It is unclear, however, whether knowledge can moderate the negative effects of pessimistic illness expectations on protective behaviors. We test COVID-19 knowledge as a moderator of the effects of (1) pessimistic illness expectations and (2) essential worker status on adherence to protective behaviors.Methods: Participants (n = 350) completed measures of knowledge, illness expectations, and protective behaviors. We used chi-square tests to examine associations between variables and logistic regressions to test the moderation models predicting adherence (low, high) while controlling for demographics.Results: Knowledge, illness expectations, and adherence were significantly associated with each other (p < 0.05). Essential workers had stronger illness expectations and lower knowledge than did non-essential workers (p < 0.001). Logistic regressions showed a non-significant Worker Status × Knowledge interaction (p = 0.59) but a significant Knowledge × Illness Expectations interaction (p < 0.05) indicating that those with strong illness expectations and low knowledge were disproportionately at risk of failing to adhere to recommended behaviors.Conclusions: Knowledge promotes protective behaviors by buffering the negative effects of pessimistic illness expectations. Essential workers are more likely to have low levels of knowledge with strong illness expectations, suggesting that educational policies may be warranted.

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Fatalism in the context of COVID-19: Perceiving coronavirus as a death sentence predicts reluctance to perform recommended preventive behaviors

Cited by 74 publications

References 21 publications

Negative Affect, Fatalism, and Perceived Institutional Betrayal in Times of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Control Beliefs

Negative Affect, Fatalism, and Perceived Institutional Betrayal in Times of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Control Beliefs

Antecedents and Consequences of Information Overload in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Importance of Understanding COVID-19: The Role of Knowledge in Promoting Adherence to Protective Behaviors

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