Anxiety and perception of risk of contagion among socially distanced Mexicans residents during the National Healthy Distance Campaign related to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Abstract

In January 2020, Chinese scientists isolated a novel virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). On January 30th, The World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency. In March, Mexican Health Authorities announced the National Healthy Distance Campaign. This novel policy encourages residents of Mexico to stay at home during the social distancing stage to prevent the spread of the virus.The aim of this study was to evaluate the anxiety and the perception of risk of contagion through six weeks of follow-up during the National Healthy Distance Campaign in Mexico related to the COVID-19 epidemic. This study was empirical, exploratory and longitudinal. 27 Mexican people participated in the study, aged 18-59 years (M=35.4, SD=11.6). Two contextualized instruments were sent by email to participants to evaluate the anxiety levels and perception of risk of contagion for six weeks. Results indicate that anxiety levels were mild trough six weeks of follow-up. Likewise, results in the second survey indicate that perception of risk of contagion levels were moderate. For further studies on this subject, six hypotheses were developed regarding the following topics: content information and information overload, adaptation process, social perception of risk, preventive behaviors, and positive and negative effects of being social distanced.