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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Policy
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1324382
This article is part of the Research Topic From Safety to Sense of Safety View all 14 articles

The Manifestation and Causes of Public Panic in the Early Stage of COVID-19 in China: A Framework Based on Consciousness-Attitude-Behavior

Provisionally accepted
WEI c. wei WEI c. wei 1XU j. xi XU j. xi 2*XU z. ying XU z. ying 3
  • 1 China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China
  • 2 Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 3 Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, Anhui, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract：The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a stark and devastating impact on global scales, affecting countries and their citizens profoundly. The public's lack of readiness for such an enigmatic and virulent threat led to widespread alarm, catalyzing a paradigm shift in both public conduct and governmental tactics. In the midst of this urgency, there was a notable lack of studies on the initial panic waves. Our study is designed to investigate the dynamics of public panic during the early stages of the pandemic, including its origins, and the public's perceptions and behaviors. Our research, conducted through a questionnaire survey employing snowball sampling, gathered critical data on the public's awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to panic between February 23rd and March 25th, 2020. The findings indicate a period of exceptionally intense and authentic public panic. This panic was a pervasive sentiment, manifesting in strong endorsements for rigorous epidemic control measures and heightened anxiety over virus-related information and family safety. The rapid spread of panic was also a notable characteristic. The public panic in response to COVID-19 was modulated by stringent prevention measures, with anxiety levels differing significantly based on occupation and health awareness. Notably, the rise of suspicious and distrustful actions was inextricably linked to an overwhelming sense of fear that gripped the public.

    Keywords: COVID-19, epidemic, panic consciousness, panic attitude, Panic behavior

    Received: 22 Oct 2023; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 wei, xi and ying. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: XU j. xi, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.