The Covid-19 outbreak was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization in January 2020. As a consequence, several protective measures were urged by national governments in order to limit the spread of the pandemic. Drawing on the literature on health behaviours, in the present study, we investigated the psychological factors (i.e., attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control, intentions, and risk perception) that were associated with two highly recommended behaviours: frequent hand washing and social distancing (i.e., staying at home except for essential reasons). The study employed a correlational design with a follow-up. A questionnaire including measures of psychological predictors was administered via social media to a sample of 403 adults residing in Italy during the lockdown. Self-reported behaviours were assessed one week later. Findings showed that attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control were significantly related to hand washing and social distancing through intentions. Risk perception was a significant predictor of social distancing but not of hand washing. These findings suggest that intervention and communication strategies aimed at encouraging preventive measures during the Covid-19 pandemic should be organized taking into account multiple factors which partially differ depending on the type of behaviour considered. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

中文翻译：

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Covid-19大流行期间保护行为的心理预测因素：计划行为和风险感知理论


2020 年 1 月，世界卫生组织宣布 Covid-19 疫情为突发公共卫生事件。因此，各国政府敦促采取多项保护措施，以限制疫情的传播。根据有关健康行为的文献，在本研究中，我们调查了与两种强烈推荐的行为相关的心理因素（即态度、社会规范、感知行为控制、意图和风险感知）：经常洗手和社交保持距离（即，除非有必要的原因，否则待在家里）。该研究采用了相关设计和随访。通过社交媒体对封锁期间居住在意大利的 403 名成年人进行了一份包含心理预测指标测量的调查问卷。一周后对自我报告的行为进行评估。研究结果表明，态度、社会规范、感知行为控制与洗手和通过意图保持社交距离显着相关。风险认知是社交距离的重要预测因素，但不是洗手的重要预测因素。这些发现表明，旨在鼓励在 Covid-19 大流行期间采取预防措施的干预和沟通策略应考虑多种因素，这些因素根据所考虑的行为类型而部分不同。请参阅补充材料部分以查找本文的社区和社会影响声明。