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| Predictive factors of public anxiety under the outbreak of COVID-19 |
| ZHEN Rui 1, ZHOU Xiao 2 |
| （1.Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou，311121；2.Department
of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310028） |
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Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and predictors of public anxiety under the
outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Self-reported questionnaires were used to investigate
1050 people the during COVID-19 outbreak, assessing their COVID-19 epidemic experiences, the time and
valence of media exposure to COVID-19-related information, risk perception of this disease, and anxiety.
The results found that the prevalence of public anxiety reached 18.0%, and the prevalence had no significant
differences in gender, age, educational level, marital status, or monthly income. In addition, this study found
that the more experiences of COVID-19-related events, the longer media exposure time of COVID-19-
related information, especially negative information, and the severer perception of COVID-19, the greater
probability of anxiety people had. In contrast, exposure to positive information about COVID-19, being
familiar with COVID-19, and perception of COVID-19 as controllable were helpful to reduce the probability
of anxiety. These findings indicate that COVID-19 epidemic experiences, the time and valence of media
exposure to COVID-19-related information, and risk perception of this disease are important predictors of
public anxiety.
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Published: 10 March 2020
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