Factors Influencing Public Panic During the COVID-19 ...

Public panic is an objective response to major risk events occurring on the public, but it is negative in nature and often causes more harm than ... ThisarticleispartoftheResearchTopic CoronavirusDisease(COVID-19):Psychological,Behavioral,InterpersonalEffects,andClinicalImplicationsforHealthSystems Viewall 204 Articles Articles GianlucaCastelnuovo CatholicUniversityoftheSacredHeart,Italy CarloLai SapienzaUniversityofRome,Italy HabibN.Khan UniversityofScienceandTechnologyBannu,Pakistan Theeditorandreviewers'affiliationsarethelatestprovidedontheirLoopresearchprofilesandmaynotreflecttheirsituationatthetimeofreview. Abstract Introduction MaterialsandMethods Results Discussion ClinicalImplications Limitation DataAvailabilityStatement EthicsStatement AuthorContributions Funding ConflictofInterest Acknowledgments References Appendix1 SuggestaResearchTopic> DownloadArticle DownloadPDF ReadCube EPUB XML(NLM) Supplementary Material Exportcitation EndNote ReferenceManager SimpleTEXTfile BibTex totalviews ViewArticleImpact SuggestaResearchTopic> SHAREON OpenSupplementalData ORIGINALRESEARCHarticle Front.Psychol.,12February2021 |https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.576301 FactorsInfluencingPublicPanicDuringtheCOVID-19Pandemic XiangtianNie1,KaiFeng1,ShengnanWang2*andYongxinLi2* 1NorthChinaUniversityofWaterResourcesandElectricPower,Zhengzhou,China 2InstituteofPsychologyandBehaviour,HenanUniversity,Kaifeng,China Thecoronavirusdisease2019(COVID-19)pandemichasbeenregardedasapublichealthemergencythatcausedaconsiderabledegreeofpublicpanic(suchasanxietyandinsomnia)duringitsearlystage.Someirrationalbehaviors(suchasexcessivesearchforinformationrelatedtothepandemicandexcessivehoardingofsupplies)werealsotriggeredasaresultofsuchpanic.Althoughtherehasbeenplentyofnewscoverageonpublicpanicduetotheoutbreak,researchonthisphenomenonhasbeenlimited.Sincepanicisthemainpsychologicalreactionintheearlystageofthepandemic,whichlargelydeterminesthelevelofpsychologicaladaptation,timeofpsychologicalrecovery,andtheincidenceofPTSD,thereexistsademandtoconductinvestigationonit.Fromapublicgovernanceperspective,thegovernment’sassessmentofpublicpanicmayaffecttheefficiencyandeffectivenessofpandemicpreventionandcontrol.Therefore,itisofobviouspracticalsignificancetoinvestigatepublicpanicduringtheCOVID-19pandemicandanalyzeitsinfluentialfactors.Theself-compiledCOVID-19SocialMentalityQuestionnairewasusedtocollectdatafromatotalof16,616participantsonline,and13,511validresponseswerereceived.Theresultsfromthechi-squaretestshowedthatthereweredifferencesingender,educationallevel,age,pandemic-relatedknowledge,self-efficacy,risklevel,andobjectivesocialsupport.Furthermore,multiplelinearregressionanalysisresultsshowedthatself-efficacy,gender,educationallevel,age,risklevel,pandemic-relatedknowledge,andobjectivesocialsupportweresignificantpredictorsofpublicpanic.Amongtheresearchvariables,self-efficacy,gender,educationallevel,andagewerenegativepredictorsofpanicwhilerisklevel,pandemic-relatedknowledge,andobjectivesocialsupportwerepositivepredictorsofpanic. Introduction Thecoronavirusdisease2019(COVID-19)isarespiratoryinfectiontransmittedbyairbornedropletsandclosecontactcausedbysevereacuterespiratorysyndromecoronavirus2(SARS-CoV-2).TheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)declaredthenovelcoronaviruspneumoniaoutbreaka“publichealthemergencyofinternationalconcern”onJanuary31,2020,Beijingtime.AsofMay24,therewere5.29millionconfirmedcasesand342,306deathsworldwide.COVID-19notonlythreatenspeople’shealthandsafety,butalsohasaprofoundimpactonpeople’slivesandwork. TheCOVID-19pandemictypicallybringsstresstothegeneralpublic.Accordingtothestresstheory,stressreferstoaseriesofphysiological,psychologicalandbehavioralreactionsthatoccurwhenpeoplefaceharmfulsubstances,threats,andchallengesinsideandoutside,andknowthatsuchstimuliwillposeathreattothemaftertheirownsubjectiveevaluation(FolkmanandLazarus,1984).Thecausesofthesereactionsarecalledstressors.Studieshavepointedoutthatinvariousmajorstressevents,infectiousdiseasesnotonlyhaveamorelastingimpactonhumanphysiology,butalsoproduceavarietyofadversepsychologicalreactionsinvictims(LiandHua,2003).Inthefaceofthepandemic,peopleoftenexperiencenegativeemotionssuchasanxiety,fear,depressionand,inseverecases,somesomaticsymptoms(ChineseAssociationforMentalHealth,2020),whichhavenegativeimpactsonpeople’sphysicalandmentalhealthaswellastheirfuturelife.Althoughtherehasbeenalotofnewsaboutpanicduringthepandemic,therehavebeenveryfewstudiesonpublicpanic.SincepanicisanimportantpsychologicalresponsetoCOVID-19,itlargelydeterminesthelevelofsubsequentpsychologicaladaptation,timeofpsychologicalrecovery,andincidenceofPTSD.Therefore,inordertoovercomethenovelCOVID-19assoonaspossible,itrequiresnotonlytheeffortsofmedicalresearchersandtheprofessionaltreatmentoffront-linemedicalstaff,butalsothetrustedscientificevidenceandknowledgeofpsychologicalresearcherstoprovidethepublicwithscience-basedguidelinestoestablishapositivesocialmentalitytoavoidexcessivepaniccausedbythepandemic(Castelnuovoetal.,2020). TheCOVID-19pandemic,asapublichealthemergency,isalsoanemergentriskeventforthepublic.Ithasthetypicalcharacteristicsofhigh-riskeventsandcausesaconsiderabledegreeofpanicinthesociety(suchasanxietyandinsomniaetc.).Accordingtotheriskperceptiontheory(Slovic,1987),ariskeventcanbeinterpretedasa“signal”;thenatureofthe“signal”andtheconditionsofitstransmissionprocesswillinfluencethereceivers’feelingsandreactionstowardtheevent.Usually,peoplerelyontheirintuitiontoknowandmakejudgmentsaboutriskevents,whichiscalledriskperception.Svenson(1988)proposedthementalmodelofrisk,believingthatindividualswillformdifferentmentalmodelsduetotheirdifferencesinknowledge,experienceandotherindividualcharacteristics,thusformingauniqueperceptionandvaluejudgmentofriskevents.Therefore,intheprocessofformingpublicriskperceptionfromarisksignal,twofactorsareinvolved.First,thecharacteristicsofriskeventsthemselves;second,thereceivers’personalcharacteristics,suchastheirpersonalityorcognitivebiases.Theinteractionamongthesecharacteristicswillalsoproduceacertaineffect.People’sriskperceptionofcrisiseventscanbemeasuredfromtwodimensions:familiarityandcontrollability.Thehighriskendisperceivedas“unknownanduncontrollable.”Previousstudiesfoundthatifriskfactorscanbeclassifiedaccordingtotheirnature,theirriskcharacteristicdimensionscanbesignificantlycorrelated.Forexample,afactorperceivedasavoluntaryriskisoftenperceivedascontrollable;ariskfactorperceivedasunknownisoftenperceivedasafactorofhighanxiety.InthecaseofCOVID-19,ontheonehand,themassive,collectivestressorofapandemicfarexceedsthecapacityofindividualsandcommunitiestorespond;ontheotherhand,asCOVID-19isanemerginginfectiousdisease,informationaboutitssource,post-infectiondetoxificationtime,andpathogenesisisstillunclear,whichfurtherexacerbatesits“uncontrollability.”InpreviousstudiesonSARS,ShiandHu(2004)pointedoutthatinformationrelatedtothepandemic,suchasetiology,routeoftransmissionandcurerate,isaneffectiveindicatortoreflectthecontrollabilityofthepandemic,whichcansignificantlyaffectpeople’sriskperception.Xieetal.(2005)pointedoutthattheindividualcharacteristicsofthepublic,suchasgender,educationalbackground,personalityandrelevantknowledge,aretheconditionsforthe“signal”transmissionprocessofriskevents.Theyaffecttheindividual’sabilityandwillingnesstoacceptriskevents,andwhensuchexceedstheindividual’stolerance,itwillproduceadversepsychologicalreactionssuchaspanicandevenleadtosomeirrationalbehaviors,suchasexcessivesearchforinformationrelatedtothepandemic,excessivehoardingoffood,andblinduseofdrugs.Therefore,thisstudyintendstoexploretheinfluenceoffactorssuchasgender,educationalbackground,risklevel,socialsupport,pandemicknowledgeandself-efficacyonpublicpanicduringthepandemicperiod.Thisstudyaimstoanalyzethecausesofpublicpanicbyexploringtheinfluencingfactors,helpthegovernmentinconductingcounselingandachievingcontrol,andlayafoundationforsubsequentpsychologicalreconstruction. MaterialsandMethods Samples Inthisstudy,aconvenientsamplingmethodwasadoptedtocarryoutasurveyinHenanprovinceusingtheonlineplatformwjx.cnfrom17:00January27,2020to17:00January29,2020.Thequestionnairewasuploadedtotheplatform,whichautomaticallygeneratesanetworklink.Thelinkwasthenpostedviatheresearcher’ssocialmediaaccountandtheorganization’swebsite,invitingpeopletoanswerthequestionsandforwardthequestionnaire.Excludedtheclosecontacts,atotalof16,616questionnairesfromgeneralpublicwerecollectedinthisstudy,with1,551questionnairesfrommedicalworkersand1,554questionnairesansweredinlessthan200sorbyoneagedlessthan16yearsormorethan100yearsold,whichweredeleted.Atotalof13,511validquestionnaireswereleft,witharesponserateof81.3%.Thesamplescover18citiesinHenanProvince,China.Amongtheparticipants,thereare4,267males(31.6%)and9,244females(68.4%),theiraverageageare32.10±11.11,withthelargestbeing77yearsoldandtheyoungest16yearsold.Amongtheparticipants,2,930(21.7%)haveahighschooleducationandbelow,2,761(20.4%)haveajuniorcollegedegree,and7,820(57.9%)haveabachelor’sdegreeorabove.1,900(14.1%)havehealthcareworkersintheirfamily,while11,611(85.9%)hadnone. Measures Theself-compiledCOVID-19SocialMentalityQuestionnairewasusedasameasurementtoolinthisstudy(Chenetal.,2020).ThequestionnairewascompiledbypsychologicalprofessorsanddoctoralstudentsattheearlystageoftheCOVID-19pandemicafterreferringtopreviousresearchesontheSevereAcuteRespiratorySyndrome(SARS)epidemicandrelevantliteratureonsuddenpublichealthevents(Qianetal.,2003;Shietal.,2003;ShiandHu,2004;Xuetal.,2005;Xieetal.,2009).Thequestionnairehassixcontents:(1)risklevelduringtheCOVID-19pandemic,(2)socialsupportduringtheCOVID-19pandemic,(3)knowledgeofCOVID-19,(4)self-efficacyinseekinghelpduringtheCOVID-19pandemic,and(5)thepublicpanicduringtheCOVID-19pandemic.Afterdeterminingthebasicframework,theteammembersmodifiedandimprovedthequestionnairethroughseveraldiscussions,andscreenedandintegratedquestionsthatweresimilar.Psychologicalscholarsandpostgraduatesweretheninvitedtoconductapilottest,andthequestionnairewasrefinedandprocessedaccordingtotheirfeedback,whichwasusedtoformulatethefinalquestionnaire.Thefinalquestionnairewasthenuploadedtotheonlineplatformwjx.cnandwastestedamongalargepopulation. RiskLevel Risklevelismeasuredbyaself-ratedquestionthatasks,“HaveyoufoundanycasesorsuspectedcasesofCOVID-19aroundyou?”Theanswer“yes”isscoredas1,andtheanswer“no”isscoredas0. ObjectiveSocialSupport Objectivesocialsupportismeasuredbyaself-ratedquestionthatasks,“whethersomeoneinthefamilyisahealthcareworker.”Theanswer“yes”isscoredas1,andtheanswer“no”isscoredas0. Pandemic-RelatedKnowledge Thesub-questionnaire“CognitionQuestionnaireonCOVID-19Pandemic”intheself-compiledCOVID-19SocialMentalityQuestionnairewasusedasthemeasurementtoolforpandemic-relatedknowledge.Thequestionnairemainlyconsistedof8items,whichrespectivelyexaminedthecognitionoftheparticipantsonthecharacteristicsofCOVID-19infection,themainsymptoms,therouteoftransmission,theknowledgeofpreventionandthedifferencebetweenthesymptomsandthecommoncold/flu,aswellastheresearchprogressrelatedtothediseaseandthedevelopmentstageofthepandemic(seeAppendix1).Thescorerangeisfrom0to8;“veryunclear”and“relativelyunclear”answersarecountedas0,and“veryclear”and“relativelyclear”answersarecountedas1,thenthetotalscoreiscalculated.TheCronbach’salphaforthisquestionnairewas.697. Self-Efficacy Thesub-questionnaire“ThePublic’sSelf-EfficacyinSeekingHelpDuringtheCOVID-19Pandemic”intheself-compiledCOVID-19SocialMentalityQuestionnairewasusedasthemeasurementtoolforself-efficacy.Thepublic’sself-efficacyduringthepandemicincludesfouritems,whichrespectivelyexaminepeople’sinformationacquisitionefficacy,informationidentificationefficacy,medicaltreatmentacquisitionefficacyandpsychologicalassistanceacquisitionefficacy.Theanswer“yes”iscountedas1score,“no”and“uncertain”as0,thenthetotalscoreiscalculated.TheCronbach’salphaforthisquestionnairewas=0.750. PublicPanic Projectionmeasurementwasusedtomeasurepublicpanic.Theproportionofpeoplearoundtheparticipantsthatfeltpanicactuallyreflectedthedegreeofpanicofthesubjectsthemselves.Participantswereaskedtoanswerthequestion,“HowmanypeoplearoundyoufeelpanicaboutCOVID-19?”The5Likertscalewasadopted,whichindicatedtheparticipants’panicfromlowtohigh. DataAnalysis SPSS25.0wasusedtoanalyzethecollecteddata,andadescriptiveanalysiswasusedtodescribepublicpanicandotherstudiedvariables.Chi-squaretestwasusedtoexaminetheexistingdifferencesinpanicunderdifferentfactors.Multivariatestepwiseregressionwasconductedtoexplorehowpublicpanicwasaffectedbyotherresearchvariables. Results TheDistributionofPanicAmongthePopulationDuringCOVID-19 AsshowninTable1,generally7,291(53.96%)peoplethoughtthatmorethanhalfofthepeoplearoundthemexperiencedpanic,whileonly1,442(10.67%)peoplethoughtthatpeoplearoundthemdidnot.Themeanofpublicpanicwas2.99andthestandarddeviationwas1.28.Chi-squaretestresultsshowedthatthereweresignificantdifferencesinthepublicpanicmoodintermsofgender(χ2=115.09,p<0.001),age(χ2=515.14,p<0.001),educationalbackground(χ2=462.59,p<0.001),objectivesocialsupport(χ2=28.97,p<0.001),risklevel(χ2=59.01,p<0.001),pandemicknowledge(χ2=111.46,p<0.001),andself-efficacy(χ2=263.36,p<0.001). TABLE1 Table1.DescriptivestatisticsandChi-squaretestofpublicpanic. CorrelationAnalysis ThedescriptivestatisticsandcorrelationmatrixofeachresearchvariableareshowninTable2.Panicissignificantlyandpositivelycorrelatedwithobjectivesocialsupport(r=0.023,p<0.01)andrisklevel(r=0.055,p<0.01),andisnegativelycorrelatedwithgender(r=−0.086,p≤0.01),age(r=0.044,p<0.01),educationalbackground(r=0.030,p<0.01),andefficacy(r=0.125,p<0.01).Therewasnosignificantcorrelationbetweenpanicandpandemicknowledge. TABLE2 Table2.Descriptivestatisticsandcorrelationanalysisofresearchvariables(N=13,511). MultivariateRegressionAnalysis InordertofurtherstudytheinfluencingfactorsofpublicpanicundertheCOVID-19pandemic,wetookpanicasadependentvariableandconductedmultiplelinearregressionanalysiswithgender,age,education,objectivesocialsupport,risklevel,pandemicknowledgeandself-efficacyasindependentvariables.Thestepwisemethodwasusedtodeterminethemainfactorsandthecriteriawassetas“Probability-of-F-to-enter≤0.05,Probability-of-F-to-remove≥0.10.”AsshowninTable3,amongthesevenmodelsobtainedbystepwiseregression,theR2(0.028)valueofthe7thmodelwasthehighest,whichwasselectedasthefinalmodel.Multivariateregressionanalysisresultsshowthatrisklevel(β=0.048,p<0.001),pandemicknowledge(β=0.030,p<0.01),andobjectivesocialsupport(β=0.029,p<0.01)canpositivelypredictpanic,whileself-efficacy(β=−0.125,p<0.001),gender(β=−0.073,p<0.001),andeducation(β=−0.045,p<0.001),age(β=−0.041,p<0.001)negativelyforecastpanic. TABLE3 Table3.Multivariateregressionanalysisoftheinfluencingfactorsofpublicpanic. MarkovChainMonteCarlo(MCMC)BayesianEstimation Comparedwiththemaximumlikelihoodestimation,theBayesianestimationcouldbenefittoevaluatethecomplicatedlikelihoodfunctionsandposteriorsinmodelestimation.AccordingtoWashingtonetal.(2011),whentheposteriorestimatesinamodelareresultedfromthestatisticallikelihoodandthepriorwitharandomsample,theBayes’theoremwouldbeadoptedtoestimatethemodel.Therefore,astandardMarkovChainMonteCarlo(MCMC)samplingmethodisneededtosimulatetheposteriordensitiesofthemodelundertheBayesianframework.However,asthemodelwasintractableinanalysis,followingthesuggestionsofBolducetal.(2005),aMCMCBayesianestimationwasappliedtoconducttheposteriorinferencesoftheresultsfromstepwiseregressioninthispaper.AsshowninTable4,theresultsofstepwiseregressionwereconsistentwiththepositiveandnegativecoefficientsofexplanatoryvariablesintheresultsofMCMCmethod,andthedifferencewasnotsignificant.Instepwiseregression,coefficientsofexplanatoryvariablesotherthanagewereallwithin95%CredibleIntervalofMCMCmethod. TABLE4 Table4.ResultsofMarkovChainMonteCarlo(MCMC)Bayesianestimation. Discussion Publicpanicisanobjectiveresponsetomajorriskeventsoccurringonthepublic,butitisnegativeinnatureandoftencausesmoreharmthangood.Ifthespreadofpublicpaniccannotbecontrolledinatimelymanner,itmaycauseanegativechainreaction,whichwillnotonlyadverselyaffectthestabilityandmanagementofthewholesociety,butalsohinderthepreventionandcontrolprocessofthepandemic.Therefore,analyzingtheinfluencingfactorsofpublicpanicunderthepandemicsituationcouldhelppeoplefindwaystoovercomepanicandhelpadministrationdepartmentsmakescientificdecisionsandcarryoutpandemicpreventionandcontrolmoreeffectively. Overview(Profile)ofthePublicPanic TheCOVID-19outbreakhashadahugepsychologicalimpactonthepopulation.Fromthepsychologicalprojectionperspective(CaiandShen,2010),sometimespeopleunconsciouslyreflecttheiremotions,attitudesandthoughtstowardexternalthingsorothers.Therefore,theperceivedpanicaroundacertainsubjectmayreflectacertaindegreeofunawarenessofone’sownfeelingsofpanic.Theresultsofthisstudyshowedthat89.33%ofthepublicbelievedthatsomeonearoundthemexperiencedpanic,andtheaveragemeasurementofpublicpanicwas2.99±1.28(M±SD),indicatingahighlevelofpanic.DuetothelackofclearunderstandingandcontroloverCOVID-19,thetheoryofpsychologicalstressexplainsthatCOVID-19isarelativelyseriousstresseventforbothsocialgroupsandindividuals.TheconclusionsareconsistentwiththerelevantstudiesduringtheSARSperiod.ShiandHu(2004)foundthroughinvestigationthatintheearlystageofSARS,peopleoftenmadeirrationalevaluationsonthecurrentsituationandconsequencesoftheepidemic,whichledtopanic.Xieetal.(2005)indicatedthatthelevelofpsychologicalanxietyofthepublicgenerallyincreasedduringtheSARSepidemic,andmajorityofthepublic’spsychologicalanxietyturnedintopsychologicalpanicduetothefailuretoreceiveeffectivefeedback.Itcanbeseenthatpanicisanormalandobjectiveresponsetoamajorepidemic,yet,thisseeminglycompletelynegativeemotionalresponseactuallyhassomepositivemeaning.Studieshaveshownthatinlife-threateningsituations,negativeemotionsnarrowtherangeofindividual’smomentarythought-actionrepertoire,improvepeople’sabilitytoactquicklyandfirmly,andthusincreasethesurvivalprobabilityofindividuals,whichhasevolutionarysignificance(Xie,2019). Therefore,thepurposeofdealingwiththenegativeemotionalreactionsuchaspanicshouldnotbeaimedattotalelimination,buttocarryoutreasonableguidanceforsuchemotion,sothatpeoplecannotonlymaintainreverencefornature,butalsoprotecttheirmentalhealth.Here,itissuggestedthattheadministrativedepartmentsmustactivelyencouragescientificresearchonpsychologicalchangesofthepublicduringthepandemic,andformulatereasonablepoliciestoeffectivelychannelthepublic’spanic,maintainsocialstabilityandspeeduptheprocessoffightingagainstthepandemic. TheRoleofSelf-Efficacy Theresultsshowthatself-efficacycannegativelypredictpanic,thatis,thehigheranindividual’slevelofself-efficacy,thelesslikelytheyarepanic.Accordingtothesocialcognitivetheory,self-efficacyisthedegreetowhichanindividualisconfidentinhisorherabilitytocompleteataskorbehavior;whetherapersoncanengageinacertainactivitysmoothlyandsuccessfullyisaffectedbyhisself-efficacybecauseanindividual’sfeelingofself-efficacyrestrictstheirmotivationlevel,behaviormodeofactivitiesandvariouspsychologicallevels(Banduraetal.,1999).Theself-efficacyinvestigatedinthisstudyisdescribedasonewhere,duringtheCOVID-19pandemic,anindividualinitiatesarequestforhelp,andduringtherequestprocess,thepredictionoftheoutcomeoftherequestreflectstheindividual’sconfidenceleveltocompleteit.Intheprocessofseekinghelp,individualswithhighself-efficacycanfurtherimprovetheirproblem-solvingabilityandhavemoreconfidencewhenfacingtasksanddifficultiesinthefuture(WilliamsandTakaku,2011).Atthesametime,individualswithhighself-efficacywillperceivemorepositiveeffectsofhelp-seekingbehavior,sotheirpsychologicalcostintheprocessofhelp-seekingisalsorelativelylow(Nadler,1991).Theyaremorelikelytoseekhelptorelievestress(AspinwallandTaylor,1992),whichhelpsreducetheiranxiety,depression,panicandotheremotionalproblemscausedbysituationalfactors,andmaintaintheiremotionalstability. Inthisregard,itisrecommendedthatthegovernmentshouldfurtherbroadenthechannelsofmedicalandpsychologicalassistanceforthepublic,encouragemoresocialforcestoinvestinthefightagainstCOVID-19,andtransmitpositivesocialenergywhileemployingcorrectadverseactionsinthefightagainstCOVID-19toshowdeterminationtoovercomethepandemic,therebyboostingpublicconfidencetoincreasetheeffectivenessofthefightagainstthepandemic. TheRoleofGender Genderisaneffectiveindicatorofpanic;womenaremorelikelytopanicinthefaceofapandemic.Itmayberelatedtothepersonalitytraitsofwomen,suchassensitivity(SuandWang,2014).Therefore,whenexperiencingchangesintheirsocialenvironment,womenaremorelikelytoperceivetheemotionalstateandchangesofthepeoplearoundthem,makingthemfeelmorepanic.Itmayalsoberelatedtothecognitivecharacteristicsoffemales.Studieshaveshownthatfemalesaredominantintheemotionalandintuitivedimensions,whilemalesaredominantintheideologicalandsensorydimensions(Pengetal.,2006).Therefore,women’semotionsaremorelikelytobeaffectedbystressfulevents.DuringtheSARSepidemic,someresearchersfoundthatthedegreeofpanic,stressintensityandstressinfluenceoffemalecollegestudentsweresignificantlyhigherthanmalecollegestudents(Yinetal.,2003).Inaddition,accordingtotheemotionalcontagiontheory(Doherty,1997),womenhavehigheremotionalsensitivitythanmen;therefore,inapandemic,womenaremoresusceptibletobeingemotionallyaffectedbythepeoplearoundthem,leadingtopanicandothernegativeemotions.Itisconsistentwiththeresultsofthisstudy,whichshowedthattheproportionoffemalecollegestudentswhoperceivedpanicaroundthemissignificantlyhigherthanthatofmalecollegestudents(Zhaoetal.,2020). Itissuggestedtopayattentiontothedifferencesbetweendifferentgendergroups,fullyunderstandtheirpsychologicalneeds,andcarryouttargetedpsychologicalassistance. TheRoleofRiskLevel Risklevelcanalsoeffectivelypredictpanic,thatis,thehighertherisklevel,thegreaterthepossibilityofpanic.Accordingtothementalmodelofrisk(Svenson,1988),whentheriskfacedbyanindividualexceedsthelevelofacceptance,astrongphysicalandmentalreactionmayoccur,suchaspanic,anxietyandotheradversepsychologicalreactions.Thedegreeofriskperceivedbyanindividualisnegativelycorrelatedwithitsgeographiclocation;thefartherthelocationofthepandemic,thelowerthedegreeofrisk.BecausethegeographicallocationofCOVID-19isclosetopeople,itisalsoareflectionofpsychologicaldistance.Therefore,whenconfirmed/suspectedcasesappeararoundindividuals,peoplewillfeelmoredangerandthreat,andtheemotionalreactionofpanicandanxietywillbestronger(Qianetal.,2003;Xieetal.,2009).Previousresearchhasalsoconfirmedthisconclusion;Qianetal.(2003)foundthatduringtheSARSepidemic,whenSARSfirstappearedintheircity,people’snegativeemotionsincreasedsignificantly,andwhenSARSappearedintheschool,companyorcommunity,thespatialandpsychologicaldistancebetweenSARSandthepeoplewasfurtherreduced,andpeopleshowedmoretension,fear,pessimismandhelplessness. ThecurrentsituationoftheCOVID-19pandemicworldwideisstillveryserious,thus,thegovernmentshouldadoptactivepreventionandcontrolpoliciesandconcentrateitseffortsonhigh-qualityallocationofresourcesonthebasisofscience.Meanwhile,allsectorsofsocietyshouldworktogether,helpeachother,exchangeneededgoodsandmakejointeffortstoreducetherisklevel. TheRoleofEducationandAge Educationbackgroundandagecanalsonegativelypredictpanic,thatis,themorehighlyeducatedpeopleare,thelesslikelytheypanic,andtheolderthepeopleare,thelesstheypanic.Inthisstudy,samplesweretakenintheearlystageofthepandemicoutbreak,whichwasalsoatimewheninformationwasexpandingrapidlyandeveryonewasinaninformationstorm.Accordingtothesignaltheory(Spence,2002),alargeamountofinformationfloodinginashorttimeproducesinformationexplosion.Informationnoisebroughtbyalargeamountofuncertaintyandinformationredundancycausesinformationdamage,thusdisturbingpeople’sabilitytodifferentiateinformation(MiaoandZhu,2006).Inaddition,thepandemicisanextraordinaryperiod,andthisspecialsituationalfactornaturallybecomesaconditionfortheformationandlivingspaceofrumors.Highlyeducatedparticipantstendtohavehighercognitivelevel,moreinformationacquisitionchannelsandstrongerinformationcollectionability(Xuetal.,2005),whichhelpsthemidentifymisinformationmoreeffectively,obtainpracticalandeffectivecopingstrategies,avoidbeingmisledbyrumorsandreduceunnecessarypanic.Moreover,theagingrateofmemoryofhighlyeducatedpeopleislow(Feng,2005).ThememoryofovercomingSARSalsobringsthemmorepositivementalmotivation,whichbufferstheirfeelingsofpanicaboutCOVID-19. Intermsofage,theresearchresultsshowthatageandeducationalbackgroundaresignificantlypositivelycorrelated,thatis,theolderthesubjectsare,thehighertheireducationalbackgroundis.Combinedwiththepreviousdiscussion,itexplainswhytheoldertheparticipantsarelesslikelytopanic.Inaddition,accordingtothesociallearningtheory,individualconceptsofrealityarederivedfromtheprocessofcomparativeverificationoftheseconceptsagainstsomeotherrealcriteria(Bandura,1986).Inthesamefuzzyinformationcondition,forindividualswithdirectexperience,althoughthedirectexperienceitselfisnotpleasantorevencompulsive,thedirectexperiencewillprovidetheindividualwithcorrespondingobjectivefeelings,whichcanoftencorrecttheunnecessarypsychologicalpaniccausedbyinformationambiguity(Xieetal.,2005).Inthisstudy,theoldersubjectsmayhaveexperiencedSARS,H1N1andotherinfectiousdiseases,andtheaccumulatedknowledgeandexperiencemakesthemmoreinformedandconfidentincopingwithCOVID-19,resultinginlesspanic. TheRoleofPandemic-RelatedKnowledgeandObjectiveSocialSupport Surprisingly,pandemic-relatedknowledgeandobjectivesocialsupportcanpositivelypredictpanic,thatis,peoplewithmorepandemic-relatedknowledgeandobjectivesocialsupportaremorelikelytopanic.However,reviewingtheliterature,itisfoundthattheresultsareconsistentwithpreviousstudies. Firstofall,intermsofpandemic-relatedknowledge,thesamplingtimeofthisstudywasintheearlyoutbreakofthepandemic,anditcouldnotberuledoutthatsomeparticipantsmisjudgedrumorsasknowledge,thustheirpaniclevelwasrelativelyhigh.ShiandHu(2004)pointedoutintheirstudythattherelevantinformationintheearlystageofthepandemichadastrongnegativeeffectonthepublic,whichwouldsignificantlyincreasethepublic’sperceptionofrisk.Moreover,accordingtothesociallearningtheory,theindividual’sconceptionofrealityisderivedfromtheprocessofcomparativeverificationoftheseconceptsandsomeotherrealstandards(Bandura,1986).Therefore,personalexperienceisofgreatsignificancetoriskcognition,andsubjectswithoutdirectpersonalexperiencearemorelikelytobeinducedbyexternalinformationandthusproducecorrespondingpsychologicalresponses(Wiegmanetal.,1991).Qianetal.(2003)conductedasurveyoftheBeijingpopulationduringtheSARSepidemicandfoundthatinthefirst2weeksoftheoutbreak,duetotheexplosionofallkindsofinformationandpeople’slackofknowledgeaboutSARSandtheepidemic,peoplecouldnoteffectivelydistinguishfactsandrumorsandwereinevitablymisled.Therefore,themoreinformationtheyreceived,themorepanictheyfelt.Inaddition,Xieetal.(2005)pointedoutthatforindividualswithoutdirectexperience,whentheinformationprovidedbytheoutsideworldisnotofclearguidingsignificance,individualsarelikelytohaveadversepsychologicalreactionssuchasanxietyandpanic.Moreover,attheoutbreakperiodofthepandemic,informationcloselyrelatedtothepublicitselfandnegativeinformationwereofutmostconcerntothepublic.Atthebeginningofacrisisevent,thepublictendstomakeajudgmentontheriskoftheeventbasedonobjectiveindicatorssuchasthefrequencyoftheoccurrenceandtheseverityoftheconsequences,whichnaturallyleadstonegativeemotionssuchaspanic(Shietal.,2003). Intermsofobjectivesocialsupport,anoperationaldefinitionofobjectivesocialsupportinthisstudyis,“Isthereanyoneinthefamilyengagedinmedicalcare?”Inthebackgroundofamajorpandemic,themedicalstaffarefightinginthefrontlineofresistancetothedisease,andespeciallyunderthehighlycontagiousCOVID-19,theconcernoffamilymembersfortheoccupationalhealthofmedicalstaffmayresulttoacertainlevelofanxiety.Moreover,accordingtothespillovertheory(Staines,1980),medicalworkersarelikelytosharewhattheyhaveseenandheardatthefrontlinewiththeirfamilies;combinedwiththeuncertaintyofvariousinformationduringthepandemicperiod,itisverylikelythattheirfamilieswillexperienceastrongsenseofpanic. Thus,itisrecommendedtoadoptadiversifiedapproachtospreadaccurateandtimelyinformationabouttheCOVID-19pandemic,repelrumorswithfactualreporting,andreducepanicamongthepublic.Besides,inordertoreducetheimpairmentofrumorsandmisinformation,itishighlynecessarytocallforpsychologicalresearchtorevealthepublic’scognitiontowardstheCOVID-19pandemicintime(Castelnuovoetal.,2020). ClinicalImplications Combinedwiththeresults,hereareproposedthreeclinicalrecommendationsforthegeneralpublicduringtheCOVID-19pandemic. First,itisanormalemotionalresponsetofeelpanicwhenfacingwithgreatdangers,suchasduringCOVID-19,andsuchresponsecanhelppeoplestayingawayfromdangers.Whenpanicoccurs,accepttheexistenceoftheemotionisinitialandessential,andthenmakeeveryefforttoseekandpracticethescientificsolution,thatis,adoptthestandardscience-basedself-protectionimplements.Forexample,stayathomeanddonottogoingout,gatheringandvisitingothers.Besides,itisanobligationtowearamedicalsurgical/protectivefacialmaskifsomeonehastogooutside.Further,washinghandsinaccordancewiththeSeven-stepmethodfrequently,keepingtheroomventilated,andeatfullycookedfoodduringtheCOVID-19pandemicarecrucialpersonalprotections.Theproperpersonalprotectioncangreatlyreducetheriskofbeinginfected. Second,intheearlystageofpandemic,peopleoftenpanicbecauseofexcessiveattentiontothepandemicandineffectivescreeningofmisinformation.Here,itissuggestedtoacquiringthepandemic-relatedknowledge/informationthroughtheauthoritativemedia.Aclearandobjectiveunderstandingofthedevelopmentofthepandemiccanhelppeopletoreducepanic.Meanwhile,intimesofemergency,thegreatestcontributiontosocietyistomanageoneselfwellwithoutspreadingorbelievingrumors. Inaddition,studieshaveshownthatonlythepandemic-relatedknowledgeacquisitionisinsufficientinreducingpanic,ratherthanthat,makingthepublictobemoreawareofthepreventionandcontrolmeasuresseemstobemoreimportanttoconfinethepandemic(Liuetal.,2004),asitcaneffectivelyimprovepeople’sself-efficacy,therebyreducingthedamageofCOVID-19pandemictothepeople’smentalhealth(Wangetal.,2020).Atpresent,scientificanalysisandinterpretationofCOVID-19relatedinformation,guidanceofpublicopinioncorrectly,clearpreventionmethodsareofgreatimportancetoimprovingthepsychologicalstateofthepublic.Inthelongterm,itisstronglyrecommendedtoimprovepeople’spublichealthliteracy(Huangetal.,2015). Limitation Duetothelimitationsoftheoverallsamplesizeandtheactualsituation,thisstudyadoptstheon-lineconvenientsamplingmethod.Therefore,duetothesampledistribution,therepresentativenessislimited.ThenumberofpreviousstudiesavailableforreferencewaslimitedowingtotheunexpectedandunknownnatureoftheCOVID-19pandemic;moreover,astimewaslimited,theself-compiledquestionnaireusedinthisstudywasrelativelycrude.Inaddition,thisstudyadoptsacross-sectionalstudydesign,whichcannotfullyreflectthepsychologicaldevelopmentofthepublicduringthepandemic.Itissuggestedthatfuturestudiesshouldadoptalongitudinalstudydesignormixedstudydesign,inordertoconductacomprehensiveandin-depthstudyofthepsychologicaldevelopmentofthepublicinemergencies. DataAvailabilityStatement Therawdatasupportingtheconclusionsofthisarticlewillbemadeavailablebytheauthors,withoutunduereservation. EthicsStatement ThestudiesinvolvinghumanparticipantswerereviewedandapprovedbytheHenanUniversityInstitutionalReviewBoard.Writteninformedconsenttoparticipateinthisstudywasprovidedbytheparticipants’legalguardian/nextofkin. AuthorContributions YLandSWweretheprincipalinvestigatorsforthestudy,generatedtheideaanddesignedthestudy.XNandKFweretheprimarywritersofthemanuscript,andapprovedallchanges.KFandSWsupportedthedatainputanddataanalysis.YLandXNsupportedthedatacollection.Allauthorswereinvolvedindeveloping,editing,reviewing,andprovidingfeedbackforthismanuscriptandhavegivenapprovalofthefinalversiontobepublished. Funding ThisresearchwassupportedbytheDoctoralInnovationFundofNorthChinaUniversityofWaterResourcesandElectricPower,andtheprojectof“SocialCognition,MentalityandHealthBehaviorofHospitalHealthcareWorkersDuringtheCOVID-19Pandemic(No.LHGJ20200044)”. ConflictofInterest Theauthorsdeclarethattheresearchwasconductedintheabsenceofanycommercialorfinancialrelationshipsthatcouldbeconstruedasapotentialconflictofinterest. Acknowledgments Wearegratefulforthesupportfromourfamilies. 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GoogleScholar Appendix1 The15itemsinvolvedinthisstudyarelistedbelow: Objectivesocialsupport:“Issomeoneinyourfamilyahealthcareworker?” Publicpanic:“HowmanypeoplearoundyoufeelpanicaboutCOVID-19?” Risklevel:“Arethereconfirmedorsuspectedcasesinyourarea?” Pandemic-relatedknowledge: a)DoyouknowthemainsymptomsofCOVID-19? b)DoyouknowhowCOVID-19istransmitted? c)DoyouknowthedifferenceinsymptomsbetweenCOVID-19andthecommoncold? d)Areyouawareofthecurrentpandemic? e)AreyouawareofcurrentresearchprogressonCOVID-19? f)DoyouthinkwearingamaskcanpreventCOVID-19infection? g)Doyouknowhowtowashyourhandsproperly? h)DoyouthinkthatthebehaviorsofdiningandgatheringisatriskofCOVID-19infection? Self-efficacy: a)IamsureIhavetheresourcesIcanusetogainknowledgeaboutCOVID-19. b)I’msureIknowhowtodistinguishtherumorfromthetruth. c)I’msureIknowhowtogetpropermedicaltreatmentifIneedit. d)I’msureIknowhowtogettheproperpsychologicalservicesifIneedit. Keywords:COVID-19,panic,pandemic-relatedknowledge,self-efficacy,risk,objectivesocialsupport Citation:NieX,FengK,WangSandLiY(2021)FactorsInfluencingPublicPanicDuringtheCOVID-19Pandemic.Front.Psychol.12:576301.doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.576301 Received:26June2020;Accepted:21January2021;Published:12February2021. Editedby: GianlucaCastelnuovo,CatholicUniversityoftheSacredHeart,Italy Reviewedby: HabibNawazKhan,UniversityofScienceandTechnologyBannu,Pakistan CarloLai,SapienzaUniversityofRome,Italy Copyright©2021Nie,Feng,WangandLi.Thisisanopen-accessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense(CCBY).Theuse,distributionorreproductioninotherforumsispermitted,providedtheoriginalauthor(s)andthecopyrightowner(s)arecreditedandthattheoriginalpublicationinthisjournaliscited,inaccordancewithacceptedacademicpractice.Nouse,distributionorreproductionispermittedwhichdoesnotcomplywiththeseterms. *Correspondence:YongxinLi,[email protected];ShengnanWang,[email protected] COMMENTARY ORIGINALARTICLE Peoplealsolookedat SuggestaResearchTopic>