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Self-protective behaviours to protect against coronavirus-19 infection and their association with Perceived Infectability, Germ Aversion and Fear of COVID-19 among South African learners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

S. Mashegoane ,
J. O. August ,
V. Baloyi ,
L. D. M. Lebeloane ,
M. Makhubela  and
K. P. Moalusi
S. Mashegoane*
Affiliation:
Psychology, University of Limpopo, Polokwane
J. O. August
Affiliation:
Psychology, Nelson Mandeal University, Qheberha
V. Baloyi
Affiliation:
Psychology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou
L. D. M. Lebeloane
Affiliation:
Further Teacher Education
M. Makhubela
Affiliation:
Psychology, University of Limpopo, Polokwane
K. P. Moalusi
Affiliation:
Industrial and Organisational Psychology, University of South Africa, Tshwane, South Africa
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the world killing millions along its path. All attempts were made to lower and eventually control the death toll from the pandemic. The “trace, test and treat” approach had its limits since the latter were not developed fast enough. Vaccines were seen as the best hope to protect individuals from the coronavirus and COVID-19. Thus, vaccination was encouraged and promoted widely. Aside from vaccines, interventions emphasised non-pharmaceutical self-protective behaviours to protect against coronavirus infection. Subsequently, there were various levels of compliance and observance of self-protection within nations. Yet studies have not attempted to explore the research implications of compliance patterns.

Objectives

The present study’s aim was to (i) identify latent classes of individuals’ varying levels of compliance with COVID-19 self-protective behaviours; and (ii) explore the capacity of the latent classes to separate individuals according to their levels of Perceived Infectability, Germ Aversion and Fear of COVID-19.

Methods

Data for the current study was extracted from a cross-district COVID-19 study conducted among high school level learners (N = 1609; girls = 59%; rural areas = 43%) in South Africa. Latent classes were derived based on the scores obtained by learners on a self-developed index of non-pharmaceutical self-protective behaviours. Three classes were identified, and they were compared against their obtained Perceived Infectability, Germ Aversion and Fear of COVID-19 scores.

Results

Scores of all three knowledge groups did not differ on Perceived Infectability (p > .05), but the highest scorers, the “knowledgeable group”, scored higher than the “moderately knowledgeable group” and the “relatively low knowledge group” on Germ Aversion and Fear of COVID-19. The scores of the “moderately knowledgeable group” and the “relatively low knowledge group” did not differ on the Fear of COVID-19.

Conclusions

The study supports an approach where learners are classified according to their knowledge of COVID-19 self-protective behaviours, and their motivation for self-protection established according to the classification.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

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Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S908
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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