Abstract
In March 2020, Italy was the first European country to be hit severely by the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to put in place moderate-high containment measures. 594 Italian expatriates participated in a cross-sectional mixed-methods survey focusing on the period that goes from the beginning of March 2020 to the beginning of April 2020. The survey aimed to describe the experiences of participants when it comes to conflicting beliefs and behavior with the Italian or host country communities in relation to COVID-19, using the Intragroup Cognitive Dissonance (ICD) framework. We explored: (1) COVID-19 risk perception (assessed for themselves, the Italian community, and the host country community); (2) COVID-19 risk meta-perception (participants’ perception of the Italian and host country communities’ risk perception); (3) intensity of emotions (assessed for themselves); (4) national group identification (assessed for themselves in relation to the Italian and host country communities) before and after the first wave of COVID-19 in Italy. An inductive thematic analysis of three open-ended questions allowed an in-depth understanding of the experiences of Italian expatriates. Results describe the ICD of participants with the Italian or host country communities, expressed as a difference between COVID-19 risk-perception and risk meta-perception. ICD predicts that when a dissonance of beliefs and behavior is experienced within an individual’s group, a shift in identification with another more consonant group will happen, if identity enhancing strategies with the dissonant group are unsuccessful. Our findings showed that when the ICD was experienced with the host country community, this was solved through a disidentification strategy and mediated by negative emotions. Identity enhancing strategies with the host country community were unsuccessfully enacted as described by the qualitative answers of participants referring to episodes of racism, ridicule, and to a Cassandra experience: predicting a catastrophic future without being believed. Unexpectedly, participants experiencing the ICD with the Italian community did not enact a disidentification strategy. An increase in virtual contacts, enhanced sense of belonging, a stronger identification baseline, and different features of the two ICDs can be responsible for these results. This study sheds light on the relevance of ICD in natural settings and on international communities, during global crises.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which first emerged in Wuhan, China at the beginning of December 2019 and rapidly spread all over the world (Shereen et al, 2020)
Based on our qualitative results that suggest that the ICD with the host country community bared the perception that the host country community was underestimating the COVID-19 health risk [theme (2)], while the ICD with the Italian community bared mostly preoccupation with economic consequences [theme (4)], we suggest that the ICD with the Italian community was smaller in terms of magnitude, impacts, and consequences in comparison to the ICD with the host country community
This study showed that the COVID19 pandemic had impacts on international communities and shed light on a particular kind of ICD experience, namely the Cassandra experience, that deserves future investigation in natural and/or laboratory settings
Summary
The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which first emerged in Wuhan, China at the beginning of December 2019 and rapidly spread all over the world (Shereen et al, 2020). Between February 21 and 23, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy sharply raised from 3 to 76 (World Health Organization, 2020). On February 29, the number of confirmed cases in Italy was 888 and Italy was the third most affected country all over the world after China and South Korea (World Health Organization, 2020). Remained the most affected country in Europe until April 04 with 119,827 confirmed cases (World Health Organization, 2020). In May 2020, the Americas became the most affected area in the world (World Health Organization, 2020)
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