Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Behavioural Changes in Response to Covid-19 Pandemic

Mohammad Nor Afandi Ibrahim, Nalini Arumugam, Geraldine De Mello, Misyana Susanti Husin @ Mamor

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i7/14388

Open access

This study aims at investigating the factors and identifying coping mechanisms for behavioural changes of Malaysians during this COVID-19 Pandemic. Questionnaires were distributed to 150 respondents using simple random sampling and the data was analysed by using SPSS. The mean (M=3.42) indicates that the respondents are going through behavioural changes due to the fear of getting infected by COVID-19. The findings also show that the behavioural changes made them cope with the changes by adapting to the new norm by wearing masks and using hand sanitisers in public places, becoming more protective of their family’s well-being, practising social distancing, preferring to stay at home rather than going out to public places and staying positive. In conclusion, the behavioural changes have been triggered by the fear of getting infected by COVID-19 and the pandemic has also affected Malaysians’ sleeping patterns and diet. It is suggested that the government, health authorities, and family pay closer attention to those who are affected by this situation through different types of support.

American Psychiatric Association. (2020). New Poll: COVID-19 Impacting Mental Well-Being:
Americans Feeling Anxious, especially for Loved Ones; Older Adults Are Less Anxious. Retrieved from Psychiatry.org website: https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news- releases/new-poll-covid-19-impacting-mental-well-being-americans-feeling-anxious-especially-for-loved-ones-older-adults-are-less-anxious
Arora, T., & Grey, I. (2020). Health behaviour changes during COVID-19 and the potential
consequences: A mini-review. Journal of Health Psychology, 25(9), 135910532093705. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320937053
Bernama News. (2021) . Bernama. 10,553 from Sri Petaling tabligh gathering have been tested for COVID-19 - Dr Noor Hisham. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysia National News Agency; 2020 March 19. Retrieved 2020 March 24. Available at:
https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=1822739
Burrows, L. (2021). Research shows how people changed their behavior in response to Covid-19
Guidance. National guidelines overruled state and local pandemic policies. Harvard Health College. https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/05/research-shows-how-people-changed-their-behavior-response-covid-19-guidance
Dawi, N. M., Namazi, H., Hwang, H. J., Ismail, S., Maresova, P., & Krejcar, O. (2021). Attitude
Toward Protective Behavior Engagement During COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: The Role of E-government and Social Media. Frontiers in Public Health, 9.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.609716
Evans, D. J. R., Pawlina, W. (2021). Effects of Covid-19: The Need to Assess the Real Value of
Anatomy Education. Anatomical Sciences Education. Volume 14, Issue 2 p. 129-131. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2061
Guan, N. C., Juhari, J., Nair, P., Ken, S., & Shanmugam, H. (2021). Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in Malaysia: A Single Thread of Hope. Retrieved from website: http://www.mjpsychiatry.org/index.php/mjp/article/viewFile/536/415.
Guterres, A. (n.d.). All hands-on deck to fight a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Retrieved from United Nations website: https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/all-hands-deck-fight-once lifetime-pandemic
Goldmann, E., Galea, S. (2014). Mental health consequences of disasters. Annu Rev Public
Health. 2014;35:169–183. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182435. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Jarrett, C. (2020). How lockdown may have changed your personality. Retrieved from www.bbc.com website: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200728-how-lockdown-may-have-changed-your-personality
Knell, G., Robertson, M. C., Dooley, E. E., Burford, K., & Mendez, K. S. (2020). Health Behavior
Changes During COVID-19 Pandemic and Subsequent “Stay-at-Home” Orders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6268. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176268
Prochaska J. O., & Velicer W. F. (1997). The transtheoretical model of health behavior change. Am. J. Health Promot. 12 38–48. 10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.38.
Rossinot, H., Fantin, R., Venne, J. (2020)./ Behavioural Changes during COVID-19 Confinement in France: A Web-Based Study. International Journal of Environ. Res. Public Health, 17 (22), 8444; https://doi.org/10..3390/ijerph17228444
Shaukat, R., Asghar, A., & Naveed, M. A. (2021). Impact of Health Literacy on Fear of Covid-19, Protective Behavior, and Conspiracy Beliefs: University Students’ Perspective. Library Philosophy and Practice (E-Journal). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4620/
The Harvard Gazette. (2020). Reducing the spread of coronavirus starts with basic hygiene.
Retrieved from Harvard Gazette website:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/03/preventing-the-spread-of-coronavirus-starts-with basic-hygiene/
Wang, G., Zhang, Y., Zhao, J., Zhang, J., Jiang, F. (2020). Mitigate the effects of home confinement on children during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lancet. 2020;395(10228):945–947. https://doi. org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30547-X
Wiley Online Library, & Garcia, L. Y. (2021). Factors explaining the fear of being infected
with COVID?19. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hex.13274
World Health Organization. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on people’s livelihoods, their
health and our food systems. Retrieved from World Health Organization website: https://www.who.int/news/item/13-10-2020-impact-of-covid-19-on-people’s-livelihoods-their health-and-our-food-systems#:~:text=Nearly%20half%20of%20the%20world’s,risk%20of%20losing%20their%20livelihoods
Worldometer. (2021). Coronavirus toll update: Cases & deaths by country. Retrieved from
Worldometers.info website: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Yunus, W. M. A. W. M., Badri, S. K. Z., Panatik, S. A., & Mukhtar, F. (2021). The Unprecedented
Movement Control Order (Lockdown) and Factors Associated with the Negative Emotional Symptoms, Happiness, and Work-Life Balance of Malaysian University Students During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.566221

In-Text Citation: (Ibrahim et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Ibrahim, M. N. A., Arumugam, N., Mello, G. D., & Mamor, M. S. H@. (2022). Behavioural Changes in Response to Covid-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(7), 1556 – 1567.