Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?

Introduction During a public health crisis, preventive measures are essential. However, to make them effective, all citizens must be engaged. Objectives To analyse the differential role of individual and contextual variables in the adherence to public health recommendations. Methods 1376 adults (...

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Main Authors: C. Cabacos, A.T. Pereira, M.J. Pacheco, S. Soares, A. Manão, A. Araújo, A.P. Amaral, R. De Sousa, A. Macedo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2022-06-01
Series:European Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822007921/type/journal_article
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author C. Cabacos
A.T. Pereira
M.J. Pacheco
S. Soares
A. Manão
A. Araújo
A.P. Amaral
R. De Sousa
A. Macedo
author_facet C. Cabacos
A.T. Pereira
M.J. Pacheco
S. Soares
A. Manão
A. Araújo
A.P. Amaral
R. De Sousa
A. Macedo
author_sort C. Cabacos
collection DOAJ
description Introduction During a public health crisis, preventive measures are essential. However, to make them effective, all citizens must be engaged. Objectives To analyse the differential role of individual and contextual variables in the adherence to public health recommendations. Methods 1376 adults (70.5% female; mean age=35.55±14.27) completed a survey between September/2020 and May/2021 with: Adherence Scale to the Recommendations during COVID-19 (ASR-COVID19; evaluates three dimensions of adherence), Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FC19S) and Toronto and Coimbra Prosocial Behaviour Questionnaire (ProBeQ; assesses empathy and altruism). Results Adherence did not differ between individuals with or without personal or family history of COVID-19 infection. ASR-COVID19 and all dimensions were positively correlated to ProBeQ’s altruism and empathy (from r=.32 to r=.54); FCV19S correlated positively to total adherence score and house sanitation (from r=.18 to r=.26; all p<.01). Linear regressions revealed that altruism and empathy (first model), as well as fear of Covid-19 (second model), were significant predictors of adherence; however, while the first model explained ≅28% of its variance, the second (FCV19S as independent variable) only explained ≅3%. Regression models performed in a subsample of participants with personal or family history of COVID-19 revealed that only empathy, but not altruism, was a significant predictor of adherence; in this subsample, fear was no longer a significant predictor of adherence, except for lockdown and use of teleservices. Conclusions Based on our results, we suggest health care providers and public health campaigns should take into consideration social solidarity and altruism, as well as previous experiences, when appealing to public’s engagement in health behaviour. Disclosure No significant relationships.
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spelling doaj.art-2a363fc3724e434abcad6f5df53e8e462023-11-17T05:05:48ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852022-06-0165S310S31010.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.792Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?C. Cabacos0A.T. Pereira1M.J. Pacheco2S. Soares3A. Manão4A. Araújo5A.P. Amaral6R. De Sousa7A. Macedo8Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalUniversity of Coimbra, Faculty Of Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalUniversity of Coimbra, Faculty Of Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalPolytechnical Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra Health School, Coimbra, PortugalACeS Baixo Mondego, Usf Coimbra Centro, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Introduction During a public health crisis, preventive measures are essential. However, to make them effective, all citizens must be engaged. Objectives To analyse the differential role of individual and contextual variables in the adherence to public health recommendations. Methods 1376 adults (70.5% female; mean age=35.55±14.27) completed a survey between September/2020 and May/2021 with: Adherence Scale to the Recommendations during COVID-19 (ASR-COVID19; evaluates three dimensions of adherence), Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FC19S) and Toronto and Coimbra Prosocial Behaviour Questionnaire (ProBeQ; assesses empathy and altruism). Results Adherence did not differ between individuals with or without personal or family history of COVID-19 infection. ASR-COVID19 and all dimensions were positively correlated to ProBeQ’s altruism and empathy (from r=.32 to r=.54); FCV19S correlated positively to total adherence score and house sanitation (from r=.18 to r=.26; all p<.01). Linear regressions revealed that altruism and empathy (first model), as well as fear of Covid-19 (second model), were significant predictors of adherence; however, while the first model explained ≅28% of its variance, the second (FCV19S as independent variable) only explained ≅3%. Regression models performed in a subsample of participants with personal or family history of COVID-19 revealed that only empathy, but not altruism, was a significant predictor of adherence; in this subsample, fear was no longer a significant predictor of adherence, except for lockdown and use of teleservices. Conclusions Based on our results, we suggest health care providers and public health campaigns should take into consideration social solidarity and altruism, as well as previous experiences, when appealing to public’s engagement in health behaviour. Disclosure No significant relationships. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822007921/type/journal_articlealtruismCovid-19fearEmpathy
spellingShingle C. Cabacos
A.T. Pereira
M.J. Pacheco
S. Soares
A. Manão
A. Araújo
A.P. Amaral
R. De Sousa
A. Macedo
Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?
European Psychiatry
altruism
Covid-19
fear
Empathy
title Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?
title_full Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?
title_fullStr Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?
title_full_unstemmed Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?
title_short Adherence to the Recommendations from the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (GDH) during the COVID-19 pandemic: fear or prosocial behaviour?
title_sort adherence to the recommendations from the portuguese general directorate of health gdh during the covid 19 pandemic fear or prosocial behaviour
topic altruism
Covid-19
fear
Empathy
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822007921/type/journal_article
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