Time Perspective and Motivation to Protective behaviours against Covid-19 in Italian young people

Abstract

Health Psychology highlights the complexity of factors that influences the individual decision to adopt one, or more, protective behaviours for avoiding diseases and adverse health outcomes. One of the most relevant theory is the Protection Motivation Theory (Rogers, 1975), which has been adopted for identifying the psychological factors involved in many protection behaviours. Another relevant construct for healthy behaviours is represented by the Time Perspective (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). This study analysed the relationships between the Protection Motivation Theory applied on Covid-19 and Time Perspective in Italian young people.A group of 130 young people (m. age 26.4; 40 males and 90 females) participated in the study, filling in the Swedish Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and the Motivation to Protect against Covid-19 Questionnaire. Three single items furthermore explored the prevailingly sources of information for Covid-19 (social media such as Facebook; traditional media such as TV; specialistic magazines such as Le Scienze) used and a single item tested the level of mistrust in Political Institutions and mass-media and its association with protection motivation, beliefs and perceived vulnerability to Covid-19.Perceived vulnerability to Covid-19 and use of protections and perceived efficacy of protections, show positive correlations with Future Positive; beliefs on Covid-19 vaccine resulted as negatively correlated with Present Fatalistic; a positive correlation between mistrust in political institutions and Present Fatalistic has been found. Social media (such as Facebook, Instagram) and traditional mass media (such as TV) as preferred systems of information are both positively correlated with beliefs on Covid-19 vaccine, perceived vulnerability and use of protections, highlighting the role of new forms of circulation of information, but also the relevance of traditional ones for young people. Perceived vulnerability to Covid-19, perceived efficacy of protections give a positive contribution to the intention to get vaccinated; mistrust in political institutions and media on the contrary reduces the intention to take the vaccine.Results are discussed in relations to preventive interventions on the young population for the improvement of self-awareness of persistence of this virus and consequently the necessity of adopting self-protection, with special attention to vaccination. The relevance of time perspective dimensions for protection suggests to include it in the programs devoted to reduce the risk of contagion.