Age differences in risk perception in a population from 18 to 90 years during Covid-19 emergency.

The primary goal of the Covid-19 Life-Span project was to further elaborate on the discussion relative to age differences in risk perception and the propensity to engage in risky behaviors during the Covid-19 pandemic. Secondly, following the line of research suggesting a preference for positive emotions in older age groups, we hypothesize that this group will feel less negative emotions in relation to Covid-19 pandemic, engaging in more risky behaviors compared to other age groups. Lastly, we investigated if an exacerbation in loneliness perception among older adults, due to the period of quarantine, would lead this population to search social contact, ignoring the preventive measures issued by the government. For this purpose, 1765 participants were recruited and divided into 6 age groups (from 18-29 to over 70). Participants were administered, through an online questionnaire, measures concerning risk perception, the implementation of maladaptive, preventive and risky behaviors, loneliness perception and affective states experienced in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. Results showed older adults reporting lower risk perception than younger age groups, suggesting a negative correlation between age and risk perception. Regarding influences of affective states on risk perception and exposure to risk behaviors, older adults, as expected, showed lower levels of negative emotions; however, emotional influences appeared of marginal importance for predicting risk perception and use of preventive measures among different age groups. Finally, loneliness perception resulted to be highest for age group 18-29; however, contrary to our hypothesis, this age group also reported the lowest level of exposure to risk behaviors. Such findings are added to the recent literature on risk perception related to Covid-19, which finds its usefulness in the possibility of developing more effective communication and management plans by the government.