Optimism and Fear of Infection as Predictors of Observing Stay-at-Home Recommendations During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

According to COVID-19 research, the introduction of a self-isolation and quaran¬tine regime is an effective measure to contain the pandemic. The article examines the problem of psychological factors of observing stay-at-home recommendations, among which the main attention is paid to two types of optimism in a pandemic situation: constructive optimism and defensive optimism. It was assumed that they would have the opposite effect on adherence to the self-isolation regime, and the negative effect of defensive optimism would be mediated by a decrease in illness anxiety or fear of infection. To test this hypothesis, a longitudinal study (with an interval of six weeks) was carried out in a sample of 306 students (89% of women) using a life orientation test, the scales of constructive and defensive optimism by Gordeeva et al., and anxiety in a pandemic situation questionnaire by Tkhostov and Rasskazova. The results confirm our hypotheses: people who adhere to the stay-at-home recommendations are characterized by a higher level of construc¬tive optimism, i.e. they believe that their efforts will help prevent infection and spread of the virus. In contrast, people who demonstrate unrealistic or defensive optimism, that is, who believe that the issue of coronavirus is exaggerated, fear infection less and admit that they do not strictly adhere to the requirements of self-isolation. These results indicate that, in addition to dispositional optimism, situation specific constructive and defensive optimism are essential in explaining health behavior, with the latter type of optimism serving as a response to anxiety associated with fear of the disease and its consequences.