Longitudinal study of the role of COVID worry versus general anxiety in predicting vaccination and other COVID-preventive behaviors.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of public engagement in health protective behaviors (e.g. masking, vaccination) to reduce viral spread and impact. Future public health efforts may be facilitated by identifying factors that impact the likelihood of adopting these behaviors. This study evaluated whether COVID-specific worry and/or generalized anxiety predicted subsequent uptake of COVID-19 vaccination and engagement in other COVID-preventive behaviors.

Method and measures: Participants (N = 205) completed an online survey in July 2020, shortly after the onset of the pandemic, and a follow-up survey, over a year later, after vaccines were available to the public.

Results: Findings indicate that those reporting greater COVID-worry on the initial survey were more likely to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the follow-up survey and to report greater engagement in COVID-protective behaviors at both timepoints. By contrast, lower levels of generalized anxiety predicted greater likelihood of vaccination by follow-up and greater engagement in other COVID-protective behaviors on the initial survey.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that worry about a specific health threat may have a protective function, motivating protective behavior, whereas elevated levels of generalized anxiety appear to undermine health protective behavior and should be aggressively addressed.