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. 2022 Jan 21;17(1):e0262161.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262161. eCollection 2022.

Risk perception and coping response to COVID-19 mediated by positive and negative emotions: A study on Chinese college students

Yongtao Gan  1 , Qionglin Fu  2
Affiliations

Risk perception and coping response to COVID-19 mediated by positive and negative emotions: A study on Chinese college students

Yongtao Gan et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the mediating roles of positive and negative emotions on the relationship between COVID-19-related risk perception and coping behaviours adopted by Chinese college students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an internet-based questionnaire survey from mid February-late October 2020, among 1038 college students, from six Chinese universities (females = 73.41%), ranging within 17-26 years. The survey questionnaire included three major components-the COVID-19-Related Risk Perception Scale (CRPS), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS-Revision), and Coping Response of COVID-19 Scale (CRCS). Descriptive statistics and a mediated model were used to analyse the collected data. A partial mediation relationship was found between COVID-19-related risk perception and 1) active-response behaviour (β = 0.05, 95% Confidence Interval [CI: 0.03, 0.08]), 2) self-protection behaviour through positive emotions (β = 0.03, CI [0.01, 0.04]), and 3) risk-taking behaviour through negative emotions (β = -0.04, CI [-0.07, -0.02]). This study's double-mediation model has been shown to detect the effect coping mechanisms to COVID-19. Furthermore, it implies that public health managers should consider the differences in coping mechanisms and the diverse mediating roles of positive and negative emotions for coping with public health emergencies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Concept model.
SPB = Self-protection behaviour, PE = positive emotion, NE = negative emotion, ARB = Active-response behaviour, SPB = Self-protection behaviour, CRP = COVID-19-related risk perception, RTB = Risk-taking behaviour.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The mediating effect of PE and NE on the relationship between CRP and CRC.
SPB = Self-protection behaviour, PE = positive emotion, NE = negative emotion, ARB = Active-response behaviour, SPB = Self-protection behaviour, CRP = COVID-19-related risk perception, RTB = Risk-taking behaviour. X = CRP, W1 = NE, W2 = PE, Y1 = ARB, Y2 = SPB, Y3 = RTB. Non-significant coefficients were not presented. Demographic variables controlled; n = 1038.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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