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Collective Efficacy and Perceived COVID-19 Severity Predict Preparedness and Response Behaviors: A Longitudinal Study of Intersectionally Vulnerable University Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2023

Marcela C. Weber*
Affiliation:
South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System, Little Rock, AR, USAPsychiatric Research Institute, The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
Jeffrey M. Pavlacic
Affiliation:
The Clinical-Disaster Research Center, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
Victoria A. Torres
Affiliation:
Warriors Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Waco, TX, USA
Lavina Y. Ho
Affiliation:
Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Erin M. Buchanan
Affiliation:
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Harrisburg, PA, USA
Stefan E. Schulenberg
Affiliation:
The Clinical-Disaster Research Center, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
*
Corresponding author: Marcela Weber; Email: marcela.c.weber@gmail.com.
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Abstract

Objective:

To promote equity for intersectionally disaster-vulnerable individuals and address three literature gaps: (1) incremental effects of collective and self-efficacy as preparedness predictors, (2) differentiation of fear and perceived severity of a disaster, and (3) clarification of the relationship between fear and preparedness.

Methods:

Due to infection risks associated with communal housing, early in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many universities permitted students to remain in campus housing only if they were housing insecure, including many international students. We surveyed intersectionally-vulnerable students and their partners at a southeast US university, N = 54, who were international (77.8%), Asian (55.6%), and/or housing insecure at baseline (79.6%). In 14 waves from May–October 2020, we assessed pandemic preparedness/response behaviors (PPRBs) and potential PPRB predictors.

Results:

We examined within- and between-person effects of fear, perceived severity, collective efficacy, and self-efficacy on PPRBs. Within-person perceived severity and collective efficacy both significantly, positively predicted greater PPRBs. All effects of fear and self-efficacy were not significant.

Conclusions:

Perceived severity and confidence that one’s actions positively impact one’s community fluctuated throughout the pandemic and are linked to greater PPRB engagement. Public health messages and interventions to improve PPRB may benefit from emphasizing collective efficacy and accuracy over fear.

Information

Type
Brief Report
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
Figure 0

Table 1.Participant demographics

Figure 1

Table 2.Descriptive statistics and multilevel model of pandemic preparedness and response behaviors

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