Public Stigma of COVID-19 and Its Correlates in the General Population of China.

Tian-Ming Zhang,Qi Fang,Mao-Sheng Ran,Hao Yao

doi:10.3390/ijerph182111718

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the profile of COVID-19-related public stigma and its correlates in the general population of China. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in China from 7 May to 25 May in 2020. A total of 1212 participants from the general population completed the survey measuring their stigmatizing attitudes towards COVID-19, as well as knowledge and causal attributions of COVID-19. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the correlates of COVID-19-related public stigma. A total of 31.8% of participants endorsed stigmatization towards people with COVID-19. Those who were of older age (t = −3.97, p < 0.001), married (F = 3.04, p < 0.05), had a lower level of education (F = 8.11, p < 0.001), and a serious psychological response (F = 3.76, p < 0.05) reported significantly higher scores of public stigma. Dangerousness (B = 0.047, p < 0.001), fear (B = 0.059, p < 0.001), anger (B = 0.038, p < 0.01), and responsibility (B = 0.041, p < 0.001) were positively associated with public stigma. This study shows that public stigma related to COVID-19 is prevalent in the general population of China. Actions against public stigma need to contain the spread of misinformation about COVID-19, alter inappropriate attributions, alleviate unfavorable reactions, and provide psychosocial support for the public.

Highlights

The pandemic of COVID-19 jeopardizes the physical health of those infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but it arouses a new wave of public stigmatization in the general population towards them [2]
Within the framework of attribution theory and prior empirical studies, we proposed that public stigma towards people with COVID-19 would be linked with different attributions and unfavorably emotional responses
Our findings suggest that a high level of stigma towards people with COVID-19 was endorsed by the general population in China

Summary

Introduction

Since the beginning of 2020, the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has swept the globe, with more than 248 million cases diagnosed till [1]. The pandemic of COVID-19 jeopardizes the physical health of those infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but it arouses a new wave of public stigmatization in the general population towards them [2]. It is not uncommon that, as the outbreaks of newly emerging infectious diseases escalate, disease-related public stigmatization often follows inside and beyond the hot zones [4]. Recent examples of public stigmatization during infectious disease outbreaks include severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) [5], H1N1 influenza [6], Ebola [7], and Zika [8]

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Discussion

Conclusion