Abstract
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) has greatly impacted the life and mental health of many people globally. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors associated with preventive behaviors and mental health among Chinese adults during their home quarantine in the COVID-19 period. An online questionnaire survey was administered in March 2020. The study participants were adults aged between 18 and 70 years old from 31 provinces in China. Of the 3878 participants, 1314 reported moderate levels of anxiety, and the remaining participants reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety. Findings revealed that females aged between 18 and 30 years old who had higher educational qualifications, greater levels of preventive knowledge, trust in the government, and resided in urban and medium-risk areas (R2 = 0.100, F = 27.97, p < 0.001) were more likely to exhibit preventive behaviors. In contrast, a higher negative emotional response was generally seen in males who had low levels of preventive knowledge and behaviors, higher risk perception of infection, lower trust in the government, and unhealthy lifestyles (R2 = 0.127, F = 32.33, p < 0.001). In addition, the high-risk perception of infection was positively associated with high odds of anxiety (AOR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.10–1.24), whereas a greater level of preventive knowledge (AOR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.19–0.70) and behaviors (AOR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.57–0.84), higher trust in the government’s COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures (AOR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.71–0.83), and a healthier lifestyle (AOR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.79–0.99) were negatively associated with high odds of anxiety. Results showed that a lower level of anxiety and negative emotional response were associated with better preventive behaviors against COVID-19, which were influenced by preventive knowledge, risk perception, trust in the government’s COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures, and healthy lifestyle. Findings in this study could help formulate health interventions for vulnerable groups related to gendered vulnerabilities in the COVID-19 environment to improve their mental health and preventive behaviors, especially during the period of a pandemic.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has become a worldwide pandemic that has significantly affected millions of businesses and individuals
Medical treatments and hospital isolation are typically put in place to manage individuals who have been tested positive for COVID-19 [1], home quarantine of the general population and social distancing are considered critical means to help minimize the transmission of COVID-19 in several countries, including China [2,3]
The findings indicated that a high-level perception of the risk of infection was positively associated with psychological problems, preventive knowledge, public trust in the government, healthy lifestyle, and preventive behaviors were found to have a negative association instead
Summary
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has become a worldwide pandemic that has significantly affected millions of businesses and individuals. In. China, the government has adopted strict measures since January 23, 2020, which included the initiation of a first-level response to major public health emergencies [4]; lockdown of the Hubei area, the epicenter of the outbreak; and the implementation of travel restrictions across China [5]. Home quarantine and preventive behaviors are commonly applied to the general population during the period of the COVID-19 outbreak. All these measures undertaken have greatly affected people’s lives, leading to a significant impact on their mental health
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