Factors Affecting Preventive Behaviours during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: An Application of Protection Motivation Theory

Saeed Abdullah AL-Dossary^1,

¹Psychology Department, College of Education, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, Saudi Arabia

Cite this paper:
Saeed Abdullah AL-Dossary. Factors Affecting Preventive Behaviours during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: An Application of Protection Motivation Theory. Research in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. 2021; 9(1):17-23. doi: 10.12691/rpbs-9-1-3

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) in predicting engagement in COVID-19 preventive behaviours in Saudi Arabia. A non-probability snowball sample (N = 594) of general public took part in the study via social media. Data were collected at two occasions for one week for each occasion between 30 August 2020 and 26 September 2020. Self-report measures of demographic information and the PMT constructs were obtained at the initial occasion. Two weeks later, self-report measures of COVID-19 preventive behaviours were collected. Structural equation modelling was used for data analysis. The results provided support of the relevance and predictive ability of the PMT. The pattern of effects among the constructs was consistent with the PMT. All of the PMT constructs, with the exception of perceived vulnerability, were found to explain preventive behaviours against COVID-19. Self-efficacy was the strongest variable in predicting the preventive behaviours from COVID-19. Based on these results, public health campaigns that are tailored toward the severity of COVID-19 may be more effective in increasing individuals’ motivation for adopting COVID-19 preventive behaviours than those that focus on increasing perceptions of individuals’ vulnerability to COVID-19. Health education interventions should consider strategies to increase an individual’s perceived self-efficacy of protective behaviours against COVID-19 such as providing opportunities to direct experience with behaviour through demonstration, modelling, and positive feedback.

Keywords:
COVID-19 protection motivation theory preventive behaviors structural equation modeling Saudi Arabia

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	WHO. (2020, December). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public.
[2]	Zhong, N. S., Zheng, B. J., Li, Y. M., Poon, X. Z. H., Chan, K. H., Li, P. H., Tan, S. Y., Chang, Q., Xie, J. P., Liu, X. Q., Xu, J., Li, D. X., Yuen, K. Y., Peiris, & Guan, Y. (2003). Epidemiology and cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, in February, 2003. Lancet, 362, 1353-8.
[3]	Hijawi, B., Abdallat, M., Sayaydeh, A., Alqasrawi, S., Haddadin, A., Jaarour, N., Alsheikh, S., & Alsanouri, T. (2013). Novel coronavirus infections in Jordan, April 2012: Epidemiological findings from a retrospective investigation. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal,19 (Suppl 1): S12-8.
[4]	Zhu, Z., Lian, X., Su, X., Wu, W., Marraro, G. A., & Zeng, Y. (2020). From SARS and MERS to COVID-19: A brief summary and comparison of severe acute respiratory infections caused by three highly pathogenic human coronaviruses. Respiratory Research, 21, 224.
[5]	Floyd, D. L., Prentice-Dunn, S., & Rogers, R. W. (2000). A meta-analysis of research on protection motivation theory. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30(20): 407-429.
[6]	Rogers, R. W. (1975). A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Psychology, 91(1), 93-114.
[7]	Rogers, R. W. (1983). Cognitive and physiological processes in fear appeals and attitude change: A revised theory of protection motivation. In J. T. Cacioppo & R. E. Petty (Eds.), Social psychophysiology: A sourcebook (pp. 153-176). Guilford Press.
[8]	Madduk, J. E., & Rogers, R. W. (1983). Protection motivation and self-efficacy: A revised theory of fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19(5), 469-479.
[9]	Norman, P., Boer, H., Seydel, E. R., & Mullan, B. (2015). Protection motivation theory. In M. Conner & P. Norman (Eds.), Predicting and changing health behavior: Research and practice with social cognition models (pp. 70-106). Open University Press.
[10]	Prentice-Dunn, S., & Rogers, R. W. (1986). Protection motivation theory and preventive health: Beyond the health belief model. Health Education Research, 1(3), 153-161.
[11]	Basheti, I., Nassar, R., Barakat, M., Alqudah, R., Abu-Farha, R. K., Mukattash, T., & Saini, B. (2020). Pharmacists’ readiness to deal with the coronavirus pandemic: Assessing awareness and perception of roles. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, S1551-7411(20)30418-6.
[12]	Bashirian, S., Jenabi, E., Khazaei, S., Barati, M., Karimi-Shahanjarini, A., Zareian, S., Rezapur-Shahkolai, F., & Moeini, B. (2020). Factors associated with preventive behaviours of COVID-19 among hospital staff in Iran in 2020: An application of the protection motivation theory. The Journal of Hospital Infection, 105(3), 430-433.
[13]	Coccia, M. (2020). Factors determining the diffusion of COVID-19 and suggested strategy to prevent future accelerated viral infectivity similar to COVID. The Science of the Total Environment, 729, 138474.
[14]	Díaz, A., Soriano, J. F., & Beleña, Á. (2016). Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire: Factor structure, psychometric properties and gender differences. Personality and Individual Differences, 101, 42-49.
[15]	Khazaee-Pool, M., Naghibi, S., Pashaei, T., Jahangiry, L., Daneshnia, M., & Ponnet, K. (2020). Development and Initial Validation of a Scale for Assessing Affecting Factors on Preventive Behaviors of COVID-19 (AFPB-CO): Using the Protection Motivation Theory. Available at Research Square.
[16]	Lin, C.-Y., Imani, V., Majd, N. R., Ghasemi, Z., Griffiths, M. D., Hamilton, K., Hagger, M. S. & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). Using an integrated social cognition model to predict COVID-19 preventive behaviours. British Journal of Health Psychology, 25(4), 981-1005.
[17]	Nicola, M., O'Neill, N., Sohrabi, C., Khan, M., Agha, M., & Agha, R. (2020). Evidence based management guideline for the COVID-19 pandemic - Review article. International Journal of Surgery, 77, 206-216.
[18]	Paital, B., Das, K., & Parida, S. K. (2020). Inter nation social lockdown versus medical care against COVID-19, a mild environmental insight with special reference to India. The Science of the Total Environment, 728, 138914.
[19]	Prasetyo, Y. T., Castillo, A. M., Salonga, L. J., Sia, J. A., & Seneta, J. A. (2020). Factors Affecting Perceived Effectiveness of COVID-19 Prevention Measures among Filipino during Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon, Philippines: Integrating Protection Motivation Theory and Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 99, 312-323.
[20]	Shen, K., Yang, Y., Wang, T., Zhao, D., Jiang, Y., Jin, R., Zheng, Y., Xu, B., Xie, Z., Lin, L., Shang, Y., Lu, X., Shu, S., Bai, Y., Deng, J., Lu, M., Ye, L., Wang, X., Wang, Y., & Gao, L. (2020). Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of 2019 novel coronavirus infection in children: experts’ consensus statement. World Journal of Pediatrics, 16(3), 223-231.
[21]	Toussaint, L. L., Cheadle, A. D., Fox, J., & Williams, D. R. (2020). Clean and Contain: Initial Development of a Measure of Infection Prevention Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 54(9), 619-625.
[22]	Byrne, B. M. (2016). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Routledge.
[23]	Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics. Pearson Education.
[24]	Jöreskog, K. G. (1993). Testing Structural Equation Models. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing Structural Models (pp.294-316). Sage.
[25]	Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423.
[26]	Schumacker, R. E. & Lomax, R. G. (2004). A beginner’s guide to structural equation model. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[27]	Browne, M., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. Bollen & J. Long (Eds.), Testing structural models (pp. 445-455). Sage.
[28]	Hu, L., Bentler, P. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6 (1), 1-55.
[29]	Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford.
[30]	Hair, J., Black, B., Babin, B., Anderson, R., &Tatham, R. (2006). Multivariate data analysis. Prentice-Hall.
[31]	Milne, S., Sheeran, P., & Orbell, S. (2000). Prediction and intervention in health related behavior: a meta-analytic review of protection motivation theory. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 106-143.
[32]	Sharifirad, G., Yarmohammadi, P., Sharifabad, M. M., & Rahaei, Z. (2014). Determination of preventive behaviors for pandemic influenza A/H1N1 based on protection motivation theory among female high school students in Isfahan, Iran. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 3, 36-41.
[33]	Plotnikoff, R. C., & Higginbotham, N. (1998). Protection motivation theory and the prediction of exercise and low-fat diet behaviours among Australian cardiac patients. Psychology & Health, 13, 411-429.
[34]	Plotnikoff, R. C., & Higginbotham, N. (2010). Protection motivation theory and exercise behaviour change for the prevention of heart disease in a high-risk, Australian representative community sample of adults. Psychology, Health, & Medicine, 7, 87-98.
[35]	Montgomery, S. B., Joseph, J. G., Becker, M. H., Ostrow, D. G., Kessler, R. C., & Kirscht, J. P. (1989). The health belief model in understanding compliance with preventive recommendations for AIDS: How useful? AIDS Education and Prevention, 1, 303-323.
[36]	Bandura A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2): 248-287.
[37]	Warner, L. M., & French, D. P. (2020). Confidence and self-efficacy interventions. In M. S. Hagger, L. D. Cameron, K. Hamilton, N. Hankonen, & T. Lintunen (Eds.), The handbook of behavior change (pp. 461-478). Cambridge University Press.