Predictors of protective behaviours during the Italian Covid-19 pandemic: an application of protection motivation theory

Caterina Grano · Claudio Singh Solorzano · Alessandra Di Pucchio

30 citations0/0 files storedPsychology and Health

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Behavioral Health and Interventions COVID-19 Prevention and Impact Communication and COVID-19 Impact

Abstract

Objective The study investigated whether Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) constructs predicted recommended protective behaviours soon after the Italian lockdown and 1-year later.Design A three-wave longitudinal design was used. Three-hundred-fifty-two adults completed online questionnaires with PMT and intention measures assessed during the Italian lockdown (T1), and behaviour measures assessed after 1-month (T2) and 1-year (T3).Outcome measures Intentions to adopt behaviours (T1) and behaviour adherence at T2 and T3.Results From T2 to T3, participants reported less adoption of distance behaviours, but higher face masks use. In SEM models, self-efficacy and perceived severity were the strongest predictors of intentions to engage in protective behaviours. Intentions (β = 0.490, p < 0.001) and fear arousal (β = 0.134 p = 0.035) predicted protective behaviours at T2. Intentions (β = 0.302, p = 0.001) and perceived severity (β = 0.431, p < 0.001) predicted protective behaviours at T3.Conclusion To increase intentions, intervention should highlight the severity of getting infected and target perceptions of one’s ability to perform the protective behaviours. In addition, interventions should consider that at the beginning of the pandemic, fear predicted the adoption of preventive behaviours while perceived severity of the disease had a greater impact over time.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 30 citations exist upstream.

References

1999Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives 1981Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error: Algebra and Statistics 1975A Protection Motivation Theory of Fear Appeals and Attitude Change1 2000A Meta‐Analysis of Research on Protection Motivation Theory 1983Protection motivation and self-efficacy: A revised theory of fear appeals and attitude change 2020Functional Fear Predicts Public Health Compliance in the COVID-19 Pandemic 2000Prediction and Intervention in Health‐Related Behavior: A Meta‐Analytic Review of Protection Motivation Theory 2002Combining motivational and volitional interventions to promote exercise participation: Protection motivation theory and implementation intentions

Cited by

2022The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Changing the Adherence to Preventive Measures: Evidence from Italy 2024Effect of educational intervention based on protection motivation theory on preventive behaviors of respiratory infections among hospital staff

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.