IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i6p3248-d521384.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fear of COVID-19 for Individuals and Family Members: Indications from the National Cross-Sectional Study of the EPICOVID19 Web-Based Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Liliana Cori

    (Department of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy)

  • Olivia Curzio

    (Department of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy)

  • Fulvio Adorni

    (Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council, Segrate, 20157 Milan, Italy)

  • Federica Prinelli

    (Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council, Segrate, 20157 Milan, Italy)

  • Marianna Noale

    (Institute of Neurosciences, National Research Council, 35127 Padova, Italy)

  • Caterina Trevisan

    (Institute of Neurosciences, National Research Council, 35127 Padova, Italy)

  • Loredana Fortunato

    (Epidemiology and Health Research Laboratory, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy)

  • Andrea Giacomelli

    (Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences L. Sacco, University of Milan, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, 20157 Milan, Italy)

  • Fabrizio Bianchi

    (Department of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
    Institute for Research and Innovation in Biomedicine, National Research Council, 90148 Palermo, Italy)

Abstract

The study analyzed the association of the fear of contagion for oneself and for family members (FMs) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with demographic and socioeconomic status (SES) and health factors. The study was performed within the EPICOVID19 web-based Italian survey, involving adults from April–June 2020. Out of 207,341 respondents, 95.9% completed the questionnaire (60% women with an average age of 47.3 vs. 48.9 years among men). The association between fear and demographic and SES characteristics, contacts with COVID-19 cases, nasopharyngeal swab, self-perceived health, flu vaccination, chronic diseases and specific symptoms was analyzed by logistic regression model; odds ratios adjusted for sex, age, education and occupation were calculated (aORs). Fear for FMs prevailed over fear for oneself and was higher among women than men. Fear for oneself decreased with higher levels of education and in those who perceived good health. Among those vaccinated for the flu, 40.8% responded they had feelings of fear for themselves vs. 34.2% of the not vaccinated. Fear increased when diseases were declared and it was higher when associated with symptoms such as chest pain, olfactory/taste disorders, heart palpitations (aORs > 1.5), lung or kidney diseases, hypertension, depression and/or anxiety. Trends in fear by region showed the highest percentage of positive responses in the southern regions. The knowledge gained from these results should be used to produce tailored messages and shared public health decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Liliana Cori & Olivia Curzio & Fulvio Adorni & Federica Prinelli & Marianna Noale & Caterina Trevisan & Loredana Fortunato & Andrea Giacomelli & Fabrizio Bianchi, 2021. "Fear of COVID-19 for Individuals and Family Members: Indications from the National Cross-Sectional Study of the EPICOVID19 Web-Based Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:6:p:3248-:d:521384
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3248/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3248/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sarah Dryhurst & Claudia R. Schneider & John Kerr & Alexandra L. J. Freeman & Gabriel Recchia & Anne Marthe van der Bles & David Spiegelhalter & Sander van der Linden, 2020. "Risk perceptions of COVID-19 around the world," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7-8), pages 994-1006, August.
    2. Bayarmagnai Weinstein & Alan R. da Silva & Dimitrios E. Kouzoukas & Tanima Bose & Gwang Jin Kim & Paola A. Correa & Santhi Pondugula & YoonJung Lee & Jihoo Kim & David O. Carpenter, 2021. "Precision Mapping of COVID-19 Vulnerable Locales by Epidemiological and Socioeconomic Risk Factors, Developed Using South Korean Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    3. Cuiyan Wang & Riyu Pan & Xiaoyang Wan & Yilin Tan & Linkang Xu & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger C. Ho, 2020. "Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    4. Maria Esther Irigoyen-Camacho & Maria Consuelo Velazquez-Alva & Marco Antonio Zepeda-Zepeda & Maria Fernanda Cabrer-Rosales & Irina Lazarevich & Antonio Castaño-Seiquer, 2020. "Effect of Income Level and Perception of Susceptibility and Severity of COVID-19 on Stay-at-Home Preventive Behavior in a Group of Older Adults in Mexico City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Antonio Baldassarre & Gabriele Giorgi & Federico Alessio & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Giulio Arcangeli & Nicola Mucci, 2020. "Stigma and Discrimination (SAD) at the Time of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-29, August.
    6. Liliana Cori & Fabrizio Bianchi & Ennio Cadum & Carmen Anthonj, 2020. "Risk Perception and COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-6, April.
    7. Bonny Yee-Man Wong & Tai-Hing Lam & Agnes Yuen-Kwan Lai & Man Ping Wang & Sai-Yin Ho, 2021. "Perceived Benefits and Harms of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Well-Being and Their Sociodemographic Disparities in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-14, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fulvio Adorni & Nithiya Jesuthasan & Elena Perdixi & Aleksandra Sojic & Andrea Giacomelli & Marianna Noale & Caterina Trevisan & Michela Franchini & Stefania Pieroni & Liliana Cori & Claudio Maria Mas, 2022. "Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Italy Using Real-World Data: Methodology and Cohort Description of the Second Phase of Web-Based EPICOVID19 Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Jian Yang & Jian Ming Luo & Rui Yao, 2022. "How Fear of COVID-19 Affects the Behavioral Intention of Festival Participants—A Case of the HANFU Festival," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Hye-Ryoung Kim & Hwa-Mi Yang, 2022. "COVID-19 Fear, Health Behaviors, and Subjective Health Status of Call Center Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-9, July.
    4. Gijung Jung & Ji Sun Ha & Mihyeon Seong & Ji Hyeun Song, 2023. "The Effects of Depression and Fear in Dual-Income Parents on Work-Family Conflict During the COVID-19 Pandemic," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    5. Ana María Recio-Vivas & Isabel Font-Jiménez & José Miguel Mansilla-Domínguez & Angel Belzunegui-Eraso & David Díaz-Pérez & Laura Lorenzo-Allegue & David Peña-Otero, 2022. "Fear and Attitude towards SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Infection in Spanish Population during the Period of Confinement," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Ana María Recio-Vivas & José Miguel Mansilla-Domíngez & Ángel Belzunegui-Eraso & David Peña-Otero & David Díaz-Pérez & Laura Lorenzo-Allegue & Isabel Font-Jiménez, 2022. "Compliance with COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Spanish Population during the New Normal: Will the Need for Greater Community Involvement Be One of the Lessons Learned?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-11, November.
    7. Stefania Pascut & Susanna Feruglio & Cristiano Crescentini & Alessio Matiz, 2022. "Predictive Factors of Anxiety, Depression, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling and Institutionalized Elderly during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-18, September.
    8. Oscar Lecuona & Chung-Ying Lin & Dmitri Rozgonjuk & Tone M. Norekvål & Marjolein M. Iversen & Mohammed A. Mamun & Mark D. Griffiths & Ting-I Lin & Amir H. Pakpour, 2022. "A Network Analysis of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S): A Large-Scale Cross-Cultural Study in Iran, Bangladesh, and Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-17, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maayan Shacham & Lee Greenblatt-Kimron & Yaira Hamama-Raz & Leslie R. Martin & Oren Peleg & Menachem Ben-Ezra & Eitan Mijiritsky, 2021. "Increased COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy and Health Awareness amid COVID-19 Vaccinations Programs in Israel," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-11, April.
    2. Frederick A. J. Simon & Maria Schenk & Denise Palm & Frank Faltraco & Johannes Thome, 2021. "The Collateral Damage of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Mental Health and Psychiatry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-10, April.
    3. Bonny Yee-Man Wong & Tai-Hing Lam & Agnes Yuen-Kwan Lai & Man Ping Wang & Sai-Yin Ho, 2021. "Perceived Benefits and Harms of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Well-Being and Their Sociodemographic Disparities in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Dian-Jeng Li & Nai-Ying Ko & Yu-Ping Chang & Cheng-Fang Yen & Yi-Lung Chen, 2021. "Mediating Effects of Risk Perception on Association between Social Support and Coping with COVID-19: An Online Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-12, February.
    5. Annika H. Davidsen & Maria S. Petersen, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Mental Well-Being and Working Life among Faroese Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Sofia Bastoni & Christian Wrede & Achraf Ammar & Annemarie Braakman-Jansen & Robbert Sanderman & Andrea Gaggioli & Khaled Trabelsi & Liwa Masmoudi & Omar Boukhris & Jordan M. Glenn & Bassem Bouaziz & , 2021. "Psychosocial Effects and Use of Communication Technologies during Home Confinement in the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy and The Netherlands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Stella E. Hines & Katherine H. Chin & Danielle R. Glick & Emerson M. Wickwire, 2021. "Trends in Moral Injury, Distress, and Resilience Factors among Healthcare Workers at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-11, January.
    8. Ceren Hayran & Lalin Anik, 2021. "Well-Being and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) on Digital Content in the Time of COVID-19: A Correlational Analysis among University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-13, February.
    9. Bayarmagnai Weinstein & Alan R. da Silva & Dimitrios E. Kouzoukas & Tanima Bose & Gwang Jin Kim & Paola A. Correa & Santhi Pondugula & YoonJung Lee & Jihoo Kim & David O. Carpenter, 2021. "Precision Mapping of COVID-19 Vulnerable Locales by Epidemiological and Socioeconomic Risk Factors, Developed Using South Korean Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Ana María Rodríguez-López & Susana Rubio-Valdehita & Eva María Díaz-Ramiro, 2021. "Influence of the CoViD-19 Pandemic on Mental Workload and Burnout of Fashion Retailing Workers in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Wasiq Khan & Bilal M. Khan & Salwa Yasen & Ahmed Al-Dahiri & Dhiya Al-Jumeily & Khalil Dajani & Abir Hussain, 2022. "COVID-19 Vaccination and Mental Stress within Diverse Sociodemographic Groups," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-19, October.
    12. José Miguel Mansilla Domínguez & Isabel Font Jiménez & Angel Belzunegui Eraso & David Peña Otero & David Díaz Pérez & Ana María Recio Vivas, 2020. "Risk Perception of COVID−19 Community Transmission among the Spanish Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Bobo H. P. Lau & Mike K. T. Cheung & Lucian T. H. Chan & Cecilia L. W. Chan & Pamela P. Y. Leung, 2021. "Resilience in the Storm: Impacts of Changed Daily Lifestyles on Mental Health in Persons with Chronic Illnesses under the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-14, May.
    14. Nguyen Xuan Truong & Bui Hoang Ngoc & Nguyen Thai Ha, 2022. "The Impacts of Media Exposure on COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors Among Vietnamese People: Evidence Using Expanded Protection Motivation Theory," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    15. Mariah Lecompte & Alyssa Counsell & Lixia Yang, 2022. "Demographic and COVID Experience Predictors of COVID-19 Risk Perception among Chinese Residents in Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-10, November.
    16. Víctor J. Villanueva-Blasco & Verónica Villanueva Silvestre & Andrea Vázquez-Martínez & Antonio Rial Boubeta & Manuel Isorna, 2021. "Age and Living Situation as Key Factors in Understanding Changes in Alcohol Use during COVID-19 Confinement," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-17, October.
    17. Shin KINOSHITA & Masayuki SATO & Takanori IDA, 2022. "Bayesian Probability Revision and Infection Prevention Behavior in Japan : A Quantitative Analysis of the First Wave of COVID-19," Discussion papers e-22-004, Graduate School of Economics , Kyoto University.
    18. Andrzej Robert Skrzypczak & Emil Andrzej Karpiński & Natalia Maja Józefacka & Robert Podstawski, 2022. "Impact of Personal Experience of COVID-19 Disease on Recreational Anglers’ Attitudes and Behaviors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-17, December.
    19. Wei-Jie Gong & Bonny Yee-Man Wong & Sai-Yin Ho & Agnes Yuen-Kwan Lai & Sheng-Zhi Zhao & Man-Ping Wang & Tai-Hing Lam, 2021. "Family E-Chat Group Use Was Associated with Family Wellbeing and Personal Happiness in Hong Kong Adults amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-13, August.
    20. Nai-Ying Ko & Wei-Hsin Lu & Yi-Lung Chen & Dian-Jeng Li & Yu-Ping Chang & Chia-Fen Wu & Peng-Wei Wang & Cheng-Fang Yen, 2020. "Changes in Sex Life among People in Taiwan during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Risk Perception, General Anxiety, and Demographic Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-15, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:6:p:3248-:d:521384. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.