Blame others but hurt yourself: blaming or sympathetic attitudes toward victims of COVID-19 and how it alters one’s health status

Abstract

Objective This study explored the relationship between blame/sympathy and blamer’s/sympathizer’s perceived health status. Design We recruited participants via an online survey platform. Study 1 was a cross-sectional study using data (N = 3304, M age = 28.22, SD age = 7.92, and 39.3% female) collected from 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions of China on February 3, 2020. Study 2 used the daily diary method collecting data from February 4 to 9, 2020. Sample (N = 2456, M age = 28.49, SD age = 7.49, and 39.4% were female) was obtained by inviting participants in Study 1 on the same platform. Main outcome measures Self-reported health status and life satisfaction. Results In Study 1, blame was negatively associated with perceived health status, while sympathy was positively associated with it. Negative emotions and risk perception are the underlying mechanisms, but neither of them has effects on the relationship between sympathy and perceived health status. Study 2 replicated these results using multilevel analysis. Conclusion The results highlight the importance of people’s attitudes on perceived health status. While sympathy is positively related to perceived health status, blaming has a negative association with perceived health status. Negative emotions and risk perceptions are the underlying mechanisms.