Do health beliefs about COVID‐19 predict morbidity? A longitudinal study

Abstract

AbstractIn a highly powered (N ≈ 5000), six‐months longitudinal study (December 2020‐May 2021), we tested the assumption that beliefs concerning COVID‐19 and the precautions against it predicted morbidity. Six months after having filled out a survey measuring beliefs about the disease and the precautions against it, participants reported if they were or had been ill with COVID‐19. A lower likelihood of being or having been ill with COVID‐19 was predicted by personal optimism concerning infection, perceived personal control over infection, perceived effectiveness of precautions, and self‐reported personal or better‐than‐average adherence to the precautions. A higher likelihood of being or having been ill with COVID‐19 was predicted by perceived personal control over a good outcome of an infection, egocentric impact perception concerning the impact of the disease, perceived difficulty of adherence to the precautions, and both personal and egocentric impact perception concerning the impact of the precautions. Comparative optimism did not predict morbidity, nor did personal optimism concerning severe disease or a good outcome, perceived personal control over severe disease, and moralization of the precautions. We discuss implications for public health communication.