Volume 63, Issue 2, November 2022, Pages 116–125
Hélène Chantal Ngah Essomba1
1 Lecturer, University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon
Original language: English
Copyright © 2022 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The objective of this research was to study the relationship between fatalistic beliefs, level of study and risk-taking of Cameroonians vis-à-vis COVID-19. Indeed, this pandemic that appeared in China towards the end of 2019 causes thousands of deaths around the world. In Cameroon, despite the many measures enacted by the Government, statistics indicate an evolution in the number of cases (nearly 20,000 cases, MINSANTE, 2020). Using the simple random sampling technique, 219 participants aged 18 to 63 were asked to complete a composite questionnaire (fatalistic belief scale, Shen et al., 2009; Protection Motivation Theory Scale, Rogers, 1973, sociodemographic variables). The results from the analysis of variances, correlations and regressions confirm our hypotheses. Overall, it is observed that the level of study influences fatalistic beliefs (F (2.115) = 5.83, p =.004) and risk-taking (F (2.115) = 9.29, p =.001). On the other hand, fatalistic beliefs explain the risk-taking vis-à-vis COVID-19 [r (219) = 0.175, p < 0.01; β = 0.175, t (217) = 2.613, p = 0.010, F (2.217) = 6.826, p = 0.010)]. Such results show the place of certain socio-demographic variables and fatalistic beliefs and the need to take them into account when addressing the issue of safety behavior.
Author Keywords: Fatalistic beliefs, COVID-19, safety behaviors, prevention.
Hélène Chantal Ngah Essomba1
1 Lecturer, University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon
Original language: English
Copyright © 2022 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The objective of this research was to study the relationship between fatalistic beliefs, level of study and risk-taking of Cameroonians vis-à-vis COVID-19. Indeed, this pandemic that appeared in China towards the end of 2019 causes thousands of deaths around the world. In Cameroon, despite the many measures enacted by the Government, statistics indicate an evolution in the number of cases (nearly 20,000 cases, MINSANTE, 2020). Using the simple random sampling technique, 219 participants aged 18 to 63 were asked to complete a composite questionnaire (fatalistic belief scale, Shen et al., 2009; Protection Motivation Theory Scale, Rogers, 1973, sociodemographic variables). The results from the analysis of variances, correlations and regressions confirm our hypotheses. Overall, it is observed that the level of study influences fatalistic beliefs (F (2.115) = 5.83, p =.004) and risk-taking (F (2.115) = 9.29, p =.001). On the other hand, fatalistic beliefs explain the risk-taking vis-à-vis COVID-19 [r (219) = 0.175, p < 0.01; β = 0.175, t (217) = 2.613, p = 0.010, F (2.217) = 6.826, p = 0.010)]. Such results show the place of certain socio-demographic variables and fatalistic beliefs and the need to take them into account when addressing the issue of safety behavior.
Author Keywords: Fatalistic beliefs, COVID-19, safety behaviors, prevention.
How to Cite this Article
Hélène Chantal Ngah Essomba, “Fatalistic beliefs and risk-taking on the covid-19 pandemic: Effect of level of study,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 116–125, November 2022.
