However, older adults perceived higher risk of dying because of COVID-19 ( Bruine de Bruin, 2020). These studies revealed that the perceived vulnerability to COVID-19 tends to decrease as age increases. Recently, the COVID-19 outbreak gave researchers the opportunity to focus on the perception of risk across the lifespan applied to a real-life situation ( Bruine de Bruin, 2020 Pasion et al., 2020 Guastafierro et al., 2021 Kivi et al., 2021). Two models in the field of health, the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT Rogers, 1983) and the Health Belief Model (HBM Becker, 1974), have proposed a distinction between two different aspects of risk perception: the subjective probability of contracting a health condition (perceived vulnerability), and the degree to which we are concerned (perceived severity) about its consequences.įew studies have examined the age-related differences in risk perception using hypothetical real-life situations (e.g., Hanoch et al., 2018 Sun and Sun, 2019). Risk perception is a cognitive process that guides people’s behaviors in the face of situations involving potential risks. It is therefore important to understand what governs risk perception, especially so in the case of emerging realities such as the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Negative events are a part of life, and the likelihood or severity we ascribe to them affects how we act and feel in relation to these events. Theoretical and practical implications of the empirical findings are discussed. Overall, self-reported anxiety over the pandemic is a crucial predictor in explaining risk perceptions in all age groups. Different predictors explain the perception of risk severity and vulnerability at different ages. Results showed that the older the participants, the lower the perceived vulnerability to getting COVID-19, but the higher the perceived severity. A total of 1,765 adults aged between 18 and 87 years old completed an online survey assessing perceived risk severity and risk vulnerability of getting COVID-19, sociodemographic status, emotional state, experience relating to COVID-19, and physical health status. The present study examined age-related differences in risk perception in the early stages of COVID-19 lockdown, analyzing variables that can explain the differences in perception of risk at different ages.
This finding raised the question on what factors could explain risk perception in older adults. Studies on age-related differences in risk perception in a real-world situation, such as the recent COVID-19 outbreak, showed that the risk perception of getting COVID-19 tends to decrease as age increases. 5Cognitive Psychology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
d’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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