JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The Health Belief Model (HBM) has a long history of use and empirical support in predicting preventive health behaviors but is not without its purported shortcomings. The present study creates and tests a new sequential mediation model to better predict Covid-19 preventive behaviors. To flatten the curve of the spread of Coronavirus, individual preventive behavior is crucial. Based upon a large sample of college students (n = 415), this study identifies a more optimal, and defensible, combination of predictor variables and explains 47 percent of the variation in Covid-19 preventive behaviors. College students are a particularly important segment to study because of their reluctance to perform Covid-19 preventive behaviors. Sequential mediation results show that fear of Covid-19 leads individuals to seek out information regarding the disease, which increases their knowledge and fosters self-efficacy which is key to driving precautionary behavior. Self-imposed preventative measures can drastically reduce the rate of infection. Given the lack of treatment options and the fact that no vaccine is yet available, it is of utmost importance that preventative measures are taken. Based upon the study’s newly created sequential mediation model, communication strategies for encouraging Covid-19 preventive behaviors are offered.