The longitudinal relation between time perspective and preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of risk perception

Abstract

Understanding psychological factors and the mechanisms involved in compliance with recommended preventive behaviors against COVID-19 is important for effective public health strategies. Time perspective was previously linked with risk perception and health-related behaviors, but it has not been explored in the context of infectious diseases. Furthermore, little is known about the explaining mechanisms that may link time perspective with adoption of preventive behaviors against health threats. The aim of the present study was to examine the longitudinal relations between time perspectives and COVID-19 risk perception and preventive behaviors. Using a six-month longitudinal design, we explored the mediating role of risk perception on the relations between the Zimbardo’s time perspectives, and preventive behaviors to protect from COVID-19. Time perspectives and COVID-19 risk perception were assessed after the lock-down (May 2020) and preventive behaviors were reported after six months (December 2020) via online surveys in a sample of 460 Romanian young adults, aged 18 to 66 years ( M age = 25.53, 87.8% women). Path analysis revealed that risk perception (i.e., perceived severity of COVID-19) mediated the relations of past negative, positive and negative future time perspectives with adoption of preventive behaviors. Our findings highlight that risk perception is an important mechanism in explaining the relation between time perspectives and preventive behaviors against major health-threats such as COVID-19.

Implications of Covid-19 Pandemic in the World and the Romanian Society. An Interdisciplinary Approach

“…Studies among the Romanian population also aligned with the results suggested by scholars worldwide, highlighting the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at various levels (Curșeu et al, 2021;Dominte et al, 2022;Măirean et al, 2023;Zancu et al, 2022). For instance, COVID-19 healthcare workers reported high levels of exposure to potentially morally injurious events, which were related to physical and emotional self-reported distress (Maftei & Holman, 2021b).…”

“…Another study conducted in a Romanian sample, mostly comprised of young adults, aimed to identify the relation between time perspective, COVID-19 risk perception and preventive behaviours, over six months. The results showed that participants with a positive orientation toward the future reported more preventive behaviours six months later, while the perceived severity of the COVID-19 pandemic was positively related to preventive behaviours during the second wave (Zancu et al, 2022). The practical implications of these results consist of focusing on the effectiveness of preventive behaviours in protecting against the risks of the pandemic, by highlighting the positive implications of compliance to health protective behaviours.…”

The Early Warning Mechanism of Public Health Emergencies Through Whistleblowing: A Perspective Based on Considering the Uncertainty of Risk Perception

“… 9 , 32 Zancu et al used Zimbabwe as an example to explore the mediating role of risk perception between time and preventive behavior. 33 Karasneh et al evaluated how the media reshapes the risk perception of pharmacists such that they take more rational preventive actions during a pandemic. 34 In addition to risk perception, trust in the sources of information is a crucial factor that enables the public to take protective actions.…”

Exploring the exponential sensitivity of risk perception in the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Risk perception acts as a mediator in the relationship between the adoption of protective behaviors and temporal perspective (Zancu et al., 2022), which tends to decrease with the progression of the COVID‐19 pandemic (Rattay et al., 2021). Individuals’ risk perception of COVID‐19 has been influenced by the progression of the pandemic (Qiao et al., 2022; Sprengholz et al., 2023).…”