When and Why People Conceal Infectious Disease.
Psychol Sci
; 35(3): 215-225, 2024 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38265420
ABSTRACT
People sick with infectious illnesses face negative social outcomes, like exclusion, and may take steps to conceal their illnesses from others. In 10 studies of past, current, and projected illness, we examined the prevalence and predictors of infection concealment in adult samples of U.S. university students, health-care employees, and online crowdsourced workers (total N = 4,110). About 75% reported concealing illness in interpersonal interactions, possibly placing others in harm's way. Concealment motives were largely social (e.g., wanting to attend events like parties) and achievement oriented (e.g., completing work objectives). Disease characteristics, including potential harm and illness immediacy, also influenced concealment decisions. People imagining harmful (vs. mild) infections concealed illness less frequently, whereas participants who were actually sick concealed frequently regardless of illness harm, suggesting state-specific biases underlying concealment decisions. Disease concealment appears to be a widely prevalent behavior by which concealers trade off risks to others in favor of their own goals, creating potentially important public-health consequences.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Doenças Transmissíveis
/
Relações Interpessoais
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Psychol Sci
Assunto da revista:
PSICOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article