Health risk perceptions in the era of the new coronavirus: Are the Italian people ready for a novel virus? A cross sectional study on perceived personal and comparative susceptibility for infectious diseases

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the impact of psychological and socio-demographic variables on perceived personal and comparative susceptibility to diseases caused by a novel, unknown virus. Study design: Cross sectional study. Methods: A total of 438 adults (200 male and 238 female) were interviewed in the waiting rooms of three primary care medicine outpatient clinics. The participants completed three validated questionnaires: the Italian Adjustment of Risk Perception of Infectious Diseases questionnaire, the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE), and the Italian Version of Personality Inventory (ITAPI). Results: Only 5% of the respondents believed it likely that they would contract a disease caused by a novel virus in the following months, even though 5.9% considered this probability higher than that of other people of the same age and gender. Gender (p <.04), age (p=.002), and marital status (p=.002) significantly affected the perceived risk of getting a disease caused by a novel virus. Selfefficacy (p<.001), imagination (p<.001), and empathy (p<.001) were significant predictors of perceived personal susceptibility. Self-efficacy (p=.04) and imagination (p=.04) were predictive of perceived comparative susceptibility. Conclusions: Adequate psycho-educational interventions are necessary to empower the population in adopting the necessary prevention and containment measures aimed at limiting the spread of novel diseases such as Covid-19 and avoiding disastrous consequences both at health and economic level.