Predictors of the Public’s Aversion to Patients Infected with COVID-19 in China: The Mediating Role of Negative Physiology

COVID-19 has had a lasting impact on the public’s mental health. Understanding the mechanism of the formation of the public’s aversion to COVID-19-infected people can not only help eliminate the irrational stigma, rejection, and aversion of the public but also promote the creation of a harmonious and healthy social atmosphere. Based on stimulus–organism–response theory, this study explored the relationships between environmental stimuli, public negative physiology, and aversion responses. A cross-sectional, online-based survey study was conducted in April 2022. A total of 1863 effective questionnaires from respondents of various ages, genders, incomes, and education levels were acquired. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. The environmental stimuli including the use of social media and the perception of risk communication aggravated the negative physiology of the public, while the public’s perception of prevention measures reduced the public’s negative physiology during the epidemic. The negative physiology of the public increases the public’s aversion responses, including disgust, stigma, and avoidance, toward patients infected with COVID-19. The negative physiology of the public plays a mediating role in the relationship between the environmental stimuli and the public’s aversion to patients infected with COVID-19. The emergence of excessive information in social media and strict prevention measures in daily life, as well as the dissemination of a large amount of risk information in pseudo-environments and realistic environments, have all exerted an impact on public sentiment and cognition. In the case of the prolonged spread of the epidemic, the accumulation of negative physiology, such as anxiety, panic, and depression, is more likely to lead to the public’s aversion to people with COVID-19.