Thinking of future as an older individual increases perceived risks for age‐related diseases but not for COVID‐19

Abstract

Actively thinking of one's future as an older individual could increase perceived risk and risk aversion. This could be particularly relevant for COVID‐19, if we consider the common representation of the risk of being infected by COVID‐19 as associated with being older. Increased perceived risk could bear consequences on the adoption of preventive behaviours. Thus, we investigated whether increasing the salience of individuals' future as an older adult would impact on their perceived risk for COVID‐19 and medical conditions varying for age‐relatedness. One hundred and forty‐four Italian adults ( M age = 27.72, range: 18–56) were randomly assigned to either a future as older adult thinking or control condition. Perceived risk for COVID‐19 and other strongly, and weakly age‐related medical conditions during the lifetime was measured. Results showed that thinking about the future as an older adult increased perceived risk for strongly and weakly age‐related diseases, but not for COVID‐19. The salience of the COVID‐19 outbreak may have raised the perceived risks in both experimental conditions, making the manipulation ineffective. In conclusion, manipulating future‐oriented thinking might be a successful communication strategy to increase people's perceived risk of common diseases, but it might not work for highly salient pathologies such as COVID‐19.

Aplikasi Health Belief Model Terhadap Perilaku Preventif COVID-19 pada Kelompok Lansia

“…13 Untuk mengukur tingkat kepercayaan diri terhadap perubahan perilaku sehat guna menghindari tertular sebuah penyakit dapat menggunakan beberapa pertanyaan yang meliputi: (1) Perceived susceptibility (kepercayaan seseorang tentang kerentanan dirinya terhadap suatu penyakit, dalam penelitian ini COVID-19), (2) Perceived severity (kepercayaan seseorang tentang kondisi keparahan dirinya apabila sudah terpapar suatu penyakit, dalam penelitian ini COVID-19), (3) Perceived benefit (persepsi seseorang terhadap manfaat yang diperoleh dari kegiatan olahraga untuk menangkal penyakit kronis, dalam penelitian ini COVID-19), dan (4) Perceived barriers (persepsi seseorang terhadap hambatan yang diperoleh ketika melakukan olahraga). 14 Usia lanjut adalah fase menurunnya kemampuan akal dan fisik, yang di mulai dengan adanya beberapa perubahan dalam hidup. Daya tahan tubuh lansia menurun karena proses penuaan.…”

Exploring the Singapore general population’s trust in COVID-19 information from different sources and its association with perceived risk of infection during the pandemic

“…Information presented across different media formats also varies in its quality. Traditional media typically relies on gatekeepers such as trained journalists, reporters, and editors to produce and deliver content ( 7 ). However, the emergence of online news, citizen journalism, and social media has disrupted the traditional news model.…”

“…As such, public trust in the government’s competence is crucial in preventing the spread of misinformation and reducing psychological distress during the pandemic. Singapore is a small independent island situated in Southeast Asia with a multi-ethnic population of 5.6 million (74.1% Chinese, 13.6% Malay, 9.0% Indian and 3.3% others) ( 7 ). Despite being a small country, Singapore managed to contain the Covid-19 outbreak with minimum disruption to daily life largely due to their pandemic’s taskforce that was established after the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003 ( 22 ).…”