Social Distance during the COVID-19 Pandemic Reflects Perceived Rather Than Actual Risk.

Tina Iachini,Francesca Pazzaglia,Francesco Ruotolo,Maria Arioli,Antonella Ferrara,Andrea Bosco,Zaira Cattaneo,Ferdinando Fornara,Michela Candini,Filomena Leonela Sbordone,Francesca Frassinetti,Antonella Lopez,Gennaro Ruggiero,Alessandro Oronzo Caffò

doi:10.3390/ijerph18115504

Abstract

Interpersonal space (IPS) is the area surrounding our own bodies in which we interact comfortably with other individuals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping larger IPS than usual, along with wearing a face mask, is one of the most effective measures to slow down the COVID-19 outbreak. Here, we explore the contribution of actual and perceived risk of contagion and anxiety levels in regulating our preferred social distance from other people during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. In this study, 1293 individuals from six Italian regions with different levels of actual risk of infection participated in an online survey assessing their perceived risk to be infected, level of anxiety and IPS. Two tasks were adopted as measures of interpersonal distance: the Interpersonal Visual Analogue Scale and a questionnaire evaluating interpersonal distance with and without face mask. The results showed that the IPS regulation was affected by how people subjectively perceived COVID-19 risk and the related level of anxiety, not by actual objective risk. This clarifies that the role of threat in prompting avoidant behaviors expressed in increased IPS does not merely reflect environmental events but rather how they are subjectively experienced and represented.

Highlights

We studied the regulation of Interpersonal space (IPS) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, when the whole country was submitted to a period of severe lockdown
The main finding of the present study was that the size of the IPS was not predicted by the actual risk of COVID-19 infection based on objective parameters
The present study revealed that the regulation of IPS was affected by how people subjectively perceived the risk of COVID-19 and the related level of anxiety, not by the actual objective risk

Summary

Introduction

Interpersonal space (IPS) is the area surrounding our own bodies in which we interact with other individuals [1]. This portion of space has been defined as an emotionally tinged area that an individual feels is private space, a space where any unwanted intrusion by others causes discomfort, anger or fear [1,2,3]. Individuals regulate IPS through two basic behaviors: they extend their distance when they feel they are in dangerous and uncomfortable situations (avoidance behavior), and vice-versa, they reduce their distance when they feel they are in friendly and safe situations (approach behavior) [1,3,4,5,6].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion