The Perception of Risk of COVID-19 Contagion and Its Effect on Health Protection Behaviors in Contexts of Salutogenesis

ABSTRACT

The evolution of an epidemic is conditioned by the health protection behaviors adopted by the population, which depends, in part, on their perception of the risk of contracting the disease. This study on the perception of the risk of COVID-19 infection in a sample of the Spanish population (N = 374) reveals that significant predictors of one’s perception of the risk of infection are personal experience with the disease, trust in those responsible for managing it, and personal attitudes towards the effectiveness of the protective measures established by the administration. The individual factors (personal experience, trust, knowledge…) and prosocial behavior (as opposed to individualism) were found to be the main elements related to the perception of risk and the performance of protection behaviors. © 2022 Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra. All rights reserved.