Hedonic Risk Preference Associated with High-Risk Behaviors under COVID-19 Pandemic among Medical Students in Japan.

Abstract

Public health measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 have focused on raising awareness and disseminating knowledge. Few considered people's risk preferences and no measurement was adapted to the context of COVID-19. This study aims (1) to investigate the association between risk preference and risk behaviors and (2) to compare a novel hedonic preference question with traditional risk preference assessment tools in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic among medical students in Japan. An online survey of fourth-year medical students was conducted. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for gender, age, household income, and the overconfidence effect were performed to investigate the association. We observed significantly higher odds of high-risk behaviors in general risk preference (odds ratio (OR): 4.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-15.50) and hedonic preference (OR: 6.58; 95% CI: 1.86-23.28) when adjusted, whereas monetary preference showed no significant association. Concerning specific risky behaviors, hedonic preference were significantly associated with four items after adjusting for covariates ("dine out" (OR: 2.78, 95% CI: 1.13-6.85), "go out" (OR: 4.35, 95% CI: 1.65-11.46), "not practicing safety precautions" (OR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.11-7.04) and "travel" (OR: 4.36, 95% CI: 1.42-13.44)), and general preference in two ("dine out" (OR: 4.82, 95% CI: 1.66-14.00) and "go out" (OR: 6.48, 95% CI: 2.07-20.24)). Hedonic and general risk preferences were significantly associated with high-risk behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future application of the novel risk-for-pleasure-seeking preference question is warranted.