Gender differences in COVID-19 knowledge, risk perception, and public stigma among the general community: Findings from a nationwide cross-sectional study in India.

Introduction: Individual and community characteristics predictive of knowledge, perception, and attitude on COVID-19, specifically on gender, have not been adequately explored. Objective: To examine the gender differences in COVID-19 knowledge, self-risk perception and public stigma among the general community and to understand other socio-demographic factors which were predictive of them. Method: A nationally representative cross-sectional multi-centric survey was conducted among adult individuals(≥18 yrs) from the community member (N = 1978) from six states and one union territory of India between August 2020 to February 2021. The participants were selected using systematic random sampling. The data were collected telephonically using pilot-tested structured questionnaires and were analyzed using STATA. Gender-segregated multivariable analysis was conducted to identify statistically significant predictors (p < 0.05) of COVID-19-related knowledge, risk perception, and public stigma in the community. Results: Study identified significant differences between males and females in their self-risk perception (22.0% & 18.2% respectively) and stigmatizing attitude (55.3% & 47.1% respectively). Highly educated males and females had higher odds of having COVID-19 knowledge (aOR: 16.83: p < 0.05) than illiterates. Highly educated women had higher odds of having self-risk perception (aOR: 2.6; p < 0.05) but lower public stigma [aOR: 0.57; p < 0.05]. Male rural residents had lower odds of having self-risk perception and knowledge [aOR: 0.55; p < 0.05 & aOR: 0.72; p < 0.05] and female rural residents had higher odds of having public stigma [aOR: 1.36; p < 0.05]. Conclusion: Our study findings suggest the importance of considering thegender differentials and their background, education status and residential status in designing effective interventions to improve knowledge and reduce risk perception and stigma in the community about COVID-19.

Longitudinal study of an emerging COVID-19 stigma: Media exposure, danger appraisal, and stress

Media coverage of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has played a critical role throughout the pandemic: sharing news about the novel virus, policies and practices to mitigate it, and the race to create and distribute vaccines. The media coverage, however, has been critiqued as stigmatizing. Although this critique is not new, there is limited understanding of how and why new stigmas emerge from exposure to media coverage. Drawing upon the model of stigma communication (Smith et al., 2019) and the attribution model of stigma (Corrigan et al., 2003), we investigated a novel model of stigma emergence that delineates two kinds of longitudinal processes: (a) a message-effects process, in which exposure to mediated messages about COVID-19 leads to public stigma through danger appraisal and (b) a coping process in which stress and rumination shape later perceptions of public stigma. To test the model, we tracked an emerging COVID-19 stigma with a two-wave survey of a prospective, longitudinal cohort living in one county in a mid-Atlantic state (N = 883). The results supported this model. The longitudinal processes of stigma emergence and implications for COVID-19 stigma are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Association between self-compassion and cyber aggression in the COVID-19 context: roles of attribution and public stigma.

Self-compassion is negatively associated with aggressive behaviors. However, the association between self-compassion and cyber aggression toward stigmatized people (e.g., people infected with COVID-19) has not been investigated in the COVID-19 context and the mechanism underlying this association remains underexplored. On the basis of emotion regulation theory and attribution theory, this study examined the indirect effects of self-compassion on cyber aggression toward people infected with COVID-19 through attribution and public stigma of COVID-19. Data were collected from 1162 Chinese college students (415 male, mean age = 21.61 years). Participants completed an online questionnaire including measurement of the key variables and basic demographic information. Results indicated that self-compassion was negatively associated with cyber aggression through the lower attribution of COVID-19 and lower public stigma of COVID-19. A sequential pathway from the attribution of COVID-19 to public stigma of COVID-19 was identified in the relationship between self-compassion and cyber aggression. Our findings are consistent with emotion regulation theory and attribution theory, which posit that emotion regulation strategies are associated with interpersonal mistreatment through cognitive pathways. These findings suggest that emotional self-regulation strategies can be used to reduce cyber aggression toward stigmatized people by reducing attribution and public stigma in the COVID-19 context. Self-compassion improvement could be target for the interventions aiming at alleviating public stigma and interpersonal mistreatment toward stigmatized people.

Comparisons Between COVID-19 Stigma and Other Stigmas: Distinct in Explicit Attitudes and Similar in Implicit Process.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the public stigma associated with COVID-19 has emerged. To better understand the COVID-19 stigma, the present research conducted three studies on 1,493 Chinese participants from the outbreak to the recovery period of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the psychological mechanisms of COVID-19 stigma by comparing it with other disease-related stigmas in terms of their explicit and implicit processes. Study 1 and Study 2 jointly demonstrated that the public endorsed more stigma toward the COVID-19 related people (i.e., the COVID-19 patients) relative to the other disease-related people (i.e., the SARS patients, people with flu) in multiple explicit aspects, including emotional, motivational, cognitive, and social processing. Using the implicit association test (IAT), Study 3 found no significant difference in the implicit measures of the COVID-19 vs. the SARS groups, which further revealed that the pandemic stigmas (i.e., COVID-19 and SARS) were similar at the implicit level. These findings suggest common (implicit level) but distinct (explicit level) psychological processes of the pandemic-related stigmas, which provide reference to policymakers in formulating suitable interventions to deal with COVID-19 stigma and a newly generated potential stigma and provide psychological support for the public in the future.

Disparities and Factors Associated with Coronavirus Disease-2019-Related Public Stigma: A Cross-Sectional Study in Thailand.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related public stigma is a major challenge, with scarce available evidence. This study aimed to determine the disparities and factors associated with COVID-19-related public stigma in the Thai population. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving a voluntary online survey in Thailand from 21 April 2020 to 4 May 2020. We invited 4004 participants to complete a series of questionnaires, including the validated COVID-19 public stigma scale and questions on relevant COVID-19-related psychosocial issues. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to investigate the factors associated with COVID-19-related public stigma. The prevalence of COVID-19-related public stigma was 24.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.2-26.2) for no/minimal, 35.5% (95% CI, 33.4-37.6) for moderate, and 40.3% (95% CI, 38.2-42.4) for high. We observed disparities in the prevalence of COVID-19-related public stigma according to participant characteristics and psychosocial factors. Using the no/minimal group as a reference group, the six predominant risk factors significantly associated with a moderate and high degree of COVID-19-related public stigma were middle-aged or older adults, male, divorced/widowed/separated, current quarantine status, moderate/severe fear of COVID-19, and medium/high perceived risk of COVID-19. Additional risk factors significantly related to a high degree of COVID-19-related public stigma were religion (Buddhist), region of residence (non-capital city), and exposure to COVID-19-related information. Disparities in COVID-19-related public stigma due to sociodemographic and psychosocial issues are frequent in the Thai population. To reduce public stigmatization, early identification of vulnerable groups and the development of tailored mitigation strategies should be implemented during the pandemic.

Longitudinal Study of an Emerging COVID-19 Stigma: Media Exposure, Danger Appraisal, and Stress

Media coverage of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has played a critical role throughout the pandemic: sharing news about the novel virus, policies and practices to mitigate it, and the race to create and distribute 4 vaccines. The media coverage, however, has been critiqued as stigmatizing. Although this critique is not new, there is limited understanding of how and why new stigmas emerge from exposure to media coverage. Drawing upon the model of stigma communication (Smith et al., 2019) and the attribution model of stigma (Corrigan et al., 2003), we investigated a novel model of stigma emergence that delineates two kinds of longitudinal processes: (a) a message-effects process, in which exposure to mediated messages about COVID-19 leads to public stigma through danger appraisal and (b) a coping process in which stress and rumination shape later perceptions of public stigma. To test the model, we tracked an emerging COVID-19 stigma with a two-wave survey of a prospective, longitudinal cohort living in one county in a mid-Atlantic state (N = 883). The results supported this model. The longitudinal processes of stigma emergence and implications for COVID-19 stigma are discussed.

Public Stigma of COVID-19 and Its Correlates in the General Population of China.

This study aimed to examine the profile of COVID-19-related public stigma and its correlates in the general population of China. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in China from 7 May to 25 May in 2020. A total of 1212 participants from the general population completed the survey measuring their stigmatizing attitudes towards COVID-19, as well as knowledge and causal attributions of COVID-19. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the correlates of COVID-19-related public stigma. A total of 31.8% of participants endorsed stigmatization towards people with COVID-19. Those who were of older age (t = -3.97, p < 0.001), married (F = 3.04, p < 0.05), had a lower level of education (F = 8.11, p < 0.001), and a serious psychological response (F = 3.76, p < 0.05) reported significantly higher scores of public stigma. Dangerousness (B = 0.047, p < 0.001), fear (B = 0.059, p < 0.001), anger (B = 0.038, p < 0.01), and responsibility (B = 0.041, p < 0.001) were positively associated with public stigma. This study shows that public stigma related to COVID-19 is prevalent in the general population of China. Actions against public stigma need to contain the spread of misinformation about COVID-19, alter inappropriate attributions, alleviate unfavorable reactions, and provide psychosocial support for the public.

Effectiveness of a Video-Based Intervention on Reducing Perceptions of Fear, Loneliness, and Public Stigma Related to COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: During the first peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, we investigated the impact of digital interventions to reduce COVID-19 related fear, loneliness, and public stigma. Methods: We recruited and randomly assigned 988 United States residents to: 1) no intervention 2) informational sheet to learn about COVID-19, 3) (2) AND video encouraging digital social activity, 4) (2) AND video sensitizing to COVID-19 related stigma (registered in Clinicaltrials.gov). Surveys were conducted between April 2-16, 2020. We employed generalized linear mixed models to investigate intervention effects. Results: 10% of the participants reported not being afraid of people COVID-19+ and 32% reported not feeling lonely. Stigma and fear items reflected acute worries about the outbreak. Relative to the informational sheet only group, video groups led to greater reduction in perceptions of fear towards COVID-19+ (ORvideo.solo = 0.78, p-val<0.001; ORvideo.friend = 0.79, p-val<0.001) and of stigma (BETAvideo.solo = -0.50, p-val<0.001; BETAvideo.friend = -0.69, p-val<0.001). Conclusion: Video-based interventions lead to reductions in COVID-19-related fear and stigma. No difference in social activity among groups was found, potentially explaining lack of efficacy on loneliness.