3 research outputs found
The perceived vulnerability to disease scale: Crossâcultural measurement invariance and associations with fear of COVIDâ19 across 16 countries
Using crossâsectional data from N = 4274 young adults across 16 countries during the COVIDâ19 pandemic, we examined the crossâcultural measurement invariance of the perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) scale and tested the hypothesis that the association between PVD and fear of COVIDâ19 is stronger under high disease threat [that is, absence of COVIDâ19 vaccination, living in a country with lower Human Development Index (HDI) or higher COVIDâ19 mortality]. Results supported a biâfactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling model where items loaded on a global PVD factor, and on the subâfactors of Perceived Infectability and Germ Aversion. However, crossânational invariance could only be obtained on the configural level with a reduced version of the PVD scale (PVDâr), suggesting that the concept of PVD may vary across nations. Moreover, higher PVDâr was consistently associated with greater fear of COVIDâ19 across all levels of disease threat, but this association was especially pronounced among individuals with a COVIDâ19 vaccine, and in contexts where COVIDâ19 mortality was high. The present research brought clarity into the dimensionality of the PVD measure, discussed its suitability and limitations for crossâcultural research, and highlighted the pandemicârelated conditions under which higher PVD is most likely to go along with psychologically maladaptive outcomes, such as fear of COVIDâ19
Aligning personal and collective interests in emerging adults during the COVIDâ19 emergency in Italy
This study investigated the relations of emerging adults' personal (civic competence and interdependent self-construal) and community-based (sense of community and civic engagement) resources as predictors of appraisal of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) and attitudes toward preventing contagion in Italy. Participants were 2873 Italian emerging adults (71% females) aged 19â30 years (Mâ=â22.67, SDâ=â2.82). Structural equation modeling revealed both direct and indirect positive associations among study variables. Civic competence and interdependent self-construal were related to sense of community and civic engagement behavior which, in turn, predicted appraisal of PHEM. Appraisal of PHEM in turn predicted attitudes toward preventing contagion. Overall, findings highlight the importance of examining the alignment between personal and collective interests to understand emerging adults' evaluative and attitudinal experiences during a period of crisis, such as that created by COVID-19