Abstract
This study aimed to assess the mediating roles of positive and negative emotions on the relationship between COVID-19-related risk perception and coping behaviours adopted by Chinese college students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an internet-based questionnaire survey from mid February-late October 2020, among 1038 college students, from six Chinese universities (females = 73.41%), ranging within 17-26 years. The survey questionnaire included three major components-the COVID-19-Related Risk Perception Scale (CRPS), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS-Revision), and Coping Response of COVID-19 Scale (CRCS). Descriptive statistics and a mediated model were used to analyse the collected data. A partial mediation relationship was found between COVID-19-related risk perception and 1) active-response behaviour (β = 0.05, 95% Confidence Interval [CI: 0.03, 0.08]), 2) self-protection behaviour through positive emotions (β = 0.03, CI [0.01, 0.04]), and 3) risk-taking behaviour through negative emotions (β = -0.04, CI [-0.07, -0.02]). This study's double-mediation model has been shown to detect the effect coping mechanisms to COVID-19. Furthermore, it implies that public health managers should consider the differences in coping mechanisms and the diverse mediating roles of positive and negative emotions for coping with public health emergencies.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first detected on December 2019 in Wuhan, the Hubei Province of China [1]
We posit that positive emotions (PE) and negative emotions (NE) partially mediated the relationship between risk perception and coping response adopted by Chinese college students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
We have confirmed that COVID-related risk perception (CRP) directly affects the coping behaviour of college students and indirectly affects their coping behaviour toward COVID-19 through PE and NE
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first detected on December 2019 in Wuhan, the Hubei Province of China [1]. Patients with COVID-19 developed fever, cough, breathlessness, diarrhoea, and fatigue. Patients died from complications of renal insufficiency, pneumonia, and severe respiratory problems [2]. COVID-19 was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in late January 2020. This declaration led to stringent restrictions worldwide and indicated serious consequences like the global spread of the disease or infection [3].
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