COVID-19 vaccination and the behavioral immune system: The newcomer and the old friend get along in preventing infection.

Despite its old evolutionary history and emotional relevance, the behavioral immune system is one of the less studied individual predictors of vaccine uptake. To fill the gap, we conducted a large online study (2072 participants) during the spring 2022 when the great majority of the Italian population had already received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Hierarchical binary logistic regression showed that, after controlling for the confounding effects of demographic and personality factors, there was a significant and positive association between pathogen disgust sensitivity and COVID-19 vaccine uptake (OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.42-1.99). The likelihood of being vaccinated for a participant with the highest possible score on the PVD Germ Aversion scale was approximately 12 times higher than the likelihood for a participant with the lowest possible score. Public health messaging could leverage the activation of the behavioral immune system as an emotional driver of vaccine uptake.

Temporary differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity and the perception of crowded spaces

Feelings of disgust, a disease avoidance emotion, vary among individuals. The present study investigated if individual differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity predict the level of disgust evoked by crowded places. Interested in the universality of this relationship, we studied it across countries (Study 1), and examined temporal differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity (Studies 2 and 3). Participants completed a pathogen disgust scale and rated the level of disgust evoked by two crowded situations. Data were collected in 2018 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), in 2020 (at the height of the pandemic) and in 2022 (later in the pandemic). Across studies and countries, individuals' pathogen disgust sensitivity predicted the disgust evoked by the situations. Moreover, the data revealed a significant increase in pathogen disgust from 2018 to 2020, most likely because of higher pathogen presence during the pandemic, before significantly decreasing in 2022 after the pandemic had progressed. This study captures a rare opportunity, investigating how these crises relate to pathogen disgust sensitivity and the perception of crowded spaces. Further, our longitudinal study is among the first showing changes in pathogen disgust sensitivity over time and monitoring the effect of the pandemic. [Display omitted] • A temporary increase in pathogen disgust sensitivity was found for the pandemic. • After that, pathogen disgust levels decreased again in 2022. • Patterns of pathogen disgust are similar across eleven countries. [ FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 vaccination intention: The combined role of pathogen disgust and trust in government.

The present study aimed to investigate the joint effect of pathogen disgust and trust in government on COVID-19 vaccination intention and to examine the mediating role of COVID-19 worry. The data was collected from July to September 2021 in mainland China by using Questionnaire Star, 2,244 valid cases were obtained among a total of 2,251 participants investigated, with an effective rate of 89.37%. The results indicated the following: (1) Individuals' COVID-19 vaccination intention was significantly higher when "congruence was high" than when "congruence was low", given comparable levels of pathogen disgust and trust in government. (2) There were no significant differences in individual COVID-19 vaccination intention with incongruence levels of pathogen disgust and trust in government. (3) The combination of pathogen disgust and trust in government can influence COVID-19 vaccination intention through COVID-19 worry. Findings illustrate that individuals with high trust in government and pathogen disgust have higher intentions. Trust in government and pathogen disgust positively predicted COVID-19 worry and reinforced individuals' intention to COVID-19 vaccination. The results have important implications for the future prevention and control of the new coronavirus, as well as providing a new perspective on COVID-19 vaccination intentions.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on disgust sensitivity in a sample of UK adults.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the introduction of a range of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures that resulted in dramatic changes in people's lives however these IPC measures are not practiced consistently across the population. One predictor of an individual's responses to the pandemic is disgust sensitivity. Understanding how disgust sensitivity varies within the population could help to inform design of public health messages to promote more uniform behavioral change during future pandemics. To understand the effect of the current COVID-19 pandemic on an individual's pathogen disgust sensitivity we have compared pathogen disgust sensitivity during the current COVID-19 pandemic to baseline pathogen disgust sensitivity, determined prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the same sample of UK adults. We find that the COVID-19 pandemic did not alter overall pathogen disgust sensitivity suggesting that disgust sensitivity is stable despite IPC measures, public health messaging, media coverage and other factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Temporary differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity and the perception of crowded spaces

Feelings of disgust, a disease avoidance emotion, vary among individuals. The present study investigated if individual differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity predict the level of disgust evoked by crowded places. Interested in the universality of this relationship, we studied it across countries (Study 1), and examined temporal differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity (Studies 2 and 3). Participants completed a pathogen disgust scale and rated the level of disgust evoked by two crowded situations. Data were collected in 2018 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), in 2020 (at the height of the pandemic) and in 2022 (later in the pandemic). Across studies and countries, individuals' pathogen disgust sensitivity predicted the disgust evoked by the situations. Moreover, the data revealed a significant increase in pathogen disgust from 2018 to 2020, most likely because of higher pathogen presence during the pandemic, before significantly decreasing in 2022 after the pandemic had progressed. This study captures a rare opportunity, investigating how these crises relate to pathogen disgust sensitivity and the perception of crowded spaces. Further, our longitudinal study is among the first showing changes in pathogen disgust sensitivity over time and monitoring the effect of the pandemic.

Women Suffered More Emotional and Life Distress than Men during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Pathogen Disgust Sensitivity.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 has brought upon unprecedented challenges to nearly all people around the globe. Yet, people may differ in their risks of social, economic, and health well-being. In this research, we take a gender-difference approach to examine whether and why women suffered greater emotional and life distress than men at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Using a large nationwide Chinese sample, we found that compared to men, women reported higher levels of anxiety and fear, as well as greater life disturbance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, that women suffered more was partly explained by their higher level of pathogen disgust sensitivity. Our findings highlight the important consequences of gender differences in response to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest that policymakers pay more attention to gender inequalities regarding COVID-19 responses.