How Does Psychological Distance Influence Public Risky Behavior During Public Health Emergencies

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Public health emergencies pose risks to physical and mental well-being.
• These emergencies can trigger risky public behaviors, escalating risk events and disrupting societal order.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the combined effect of risk perception and psychological insecurity.
• To examine the relationship between psychological distance and public risky behavior, mediated by risk perception and psychological insecurity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cross-sectional data from 257 urban residents in China.
• Employed validated scales for psychological distance, risk perception, psychological insecurity, and risky behavior.
• Tested hypotheses using the PROCESS macro for mediation analysis.

Main Results:

• Direct impact of psychological distance on risky behavior was not statistically significant.
• Psychological distance significantly impacted risky behavior indirectly.
• This indirect effect was serially mediated by risk perception and psychological insecurity.

Conclusions:

• Risk perception and psychological insecurity act as serial mediators between psychological distance and public risky behavior.
• Public health managers should focus on individuals with closer psychological distance during emergencies.
• Interventions should aim to reduce risk perception and enhance psychological security to mitigate risky behaviors.