A Study On Risk Perception And Coping Behavior Of College Students In Guangzhou For Public Health Emergencies

Background:COVID-19 not only had negative impact on people’s health and social development,but also disrupted the study and life of college students.When faced with public health emergencies such as COVID-19,college students may experience perceptual biases and behavioral changes.This study focused on college students in Guangzhou,clarified the factors and pathways influencing COVID-19 risk perception and coping behavior of this group,and provided theoretical basis and recommendations for guiding the college students to form accurate COVID-19 risk perception and reasonable coping behavior.Methods:Based on previous research results and related theoretical models,this study selected seven variables:demographic factors,information channels,information content,social emotion,organizational reputation,risk perception and coping behavior,constructed a theoretical model of risk perception and coping behavior of college students in Guangzhou city COVID-19,and proposed nine theoretical hypotheses.The empirical study was conducted by distributing a web-based questionnaire.SPSS 22.0 was used to perform descriptive statistical analysis and reliability tests on the sample data,and independence tests and one-way ANOVA were performed on the demographic factors.The structural equation model fit fitness test and path analysis were performed using AMOS 26.0 to verify and analyze the theoretical hypotheses.The theoretical model of this study was revised based on the results of the empirical study.Results:(1)The score of the COVID-19 risk perception scale for college students in Guangzhou was 3.49,and the controllability dimension scored higher than the severity and susceptibility dimensions;The coping behavior scale score was 3.87,and the individual protective behavior dimension scored higher than the public protective behavior dimension.(2)On the demographic factor level,age groups,levels of monthly disposable income,chronic underlying diseases,commercial health insurance all had significant effects on the risk perception of COVID-19 among college students in Guangzhou;age groups,major,commercial health insurance all had significant effects on the coping behavior of COVID-19 among college students in Guangzhou.(3)The structural equation model constructed in this study fits well,with 7 theoretical hypotheses holding and 2 theoretical hypotheses not holding.(4)Information channel,information content,social emotion,and organizational reputation have significant effects on risk perception with path coefficients of 0.247,0.272,0.316,and-0.142,respectively.(5)Social emotion,risk perception,and organizational reputation correspond to significant effects on behavior,with path coefficients of 0.409,0.125,and-0.407,respectively.Conclusion:(1)The COVID-19 risk perception and coping behavior of college students in Guangzhou were at a moderate level;this group perceived the uncontrollability of COVID-19 more strongly and adopted individual protective behaviors to a greater extent.(2)There are significant individual differences in risk perception and coping behavior of COVID-19 among college students in Guangzhou.(3)Information channel,information content,and social emotion had significant positive effects on risk perception,and social emotion had the strongest causal relationship with risk perception;organizational reputation had significant negative effect on risk perception.(4)Social emotion and risk perception had a significant positive effect on coping behavior,and social emotion had the strongest causal relationship with coping behavior;organizational reputation had significant negative effect on coping behavior.