Job loss and health threatening events modulate risk-taking behaviours in the Covid-19 emergency

Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 17;10(1):22236. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-78992-x.

Abstract

Covid-19 pandemic is exerting a tragic impact all around the world. First-person experience of life-threatening and stressful events can modify individuals' risk perception, and, consequently, risk-taking behaviours. Here we investigated risk-taking profiles in 130 Italian residents, and compared healthcare to non-healthcare workers, during the lockdown phase. We ad hoc developed the "Covid-19 Risk Task", including the classic monetary Holt-Laury Paired Lottery Task (Monetary Condition, MC) and two new ecological conditions exploring Covid-19 related risk-taking aptitudes in relation to different health (Health Status Condition, HsC) and employment (Employment Status Condition, EsC) outcomes. Results showed that, in the whole sample, individuals were more risk-averse in MC than in HsC and EsC. Moreover, a payoff increase produced a shift toward more risk-averse behaviours in MC, but not in HsC and EsC, where we found an opposite trend suggesting a more risk-loving behaviour. Finally, we found that healthcare workers were significantly less risk-averse compared to non-healthcare workers in EsC, but not in MC and HsC. These findings provided evidence of the possible effects of Covid-19 outbreak on risk-taking aptitudes. The negative impact on human choices and, consequently, on the whole world economy of this catastrophic life event must not be underestimated.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • COVID-19 / psychology*
  • Disease Outbreaks / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Health Personnel / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Italy
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics / statistics & numerical data*
  • Risk-Taking*
  • SARS-CoV-2 / pathogenicity
  • Unemployment / psychology*