Contagious risk and social precautionary withdrawal behaviour

Abstract

Background: Humans are social animals rendering social relations utterly important. However, in cases of contagious diseases (e.g., flu), social contact also poses a risk to our health. Thus, this study aimed to investigate precautionary illness-prevention strategies from a social network perspective. Methods: Every second week during the first semester, 100 Psychology freshmen indicated their flu risk perception, whether they had been sick during the last week, and their active friendships within their freshmen network. Results: Social network analysis yielded that participants with high risk perception nominated fewer friends (B = -0.10; OR = 0.90; 95% CI [0.83 - 0.98]) and where more likely to be sick (B = 0.26; OR = 1.30; 95% CI [1.08 - 1.56]) at the following time point. Conclusions: In accordance with the concept of the ‘behavioural immune system’ participants with high flu risk perception displayed a social precautionary withdrawal behaviour. However, the relative accuracy in their risk perception indicates that reduced social activity might be an illusionary control strategy for illness prevention.