Percepción del riesgo de contagio del SARS-CoV-2 y quejas subjetivas de memoria en estudiantes universitarios

Abstract

[ES] La pandemia del COVID-19 ha supuesto un reto para la sociedad, que ha evidenciado la importancia de tener en cuenta los niveles de percepción de riesgo de la población en situaciones de emergencia, y el efecto que tienen los procesos psicológicos sobre ella. En la presente investigación se ha analizado la relación entre la percepción de riesgo de contagio del coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, y las quejas subjetivas de memoria (retrospectiva y prospectiva) en población adulta joven (estudiantes), en junio de 2021. Los resultados mostraron una relación positiva y significativa entre percepción del riesgo, relacionado con la probabilidad de contagiarse y manifestar una sintomatología grave, y las quejas subjetivas de memoria retrospectiva y prospectiva. Esta relación se daba con independencia del contacto de los sujetos con la enfermedad (contagio: no, no lo sé, sí), pero con diferente tamaño de la relación, siendo el doble en los sujetos que se contagiaron del SARS-CoV-2 (Rho = .679) en relación a los que no se contagiaron (Rho = .382) o no lo sabían (Rho = .264). Estudiar los factores que modulan la percepción del riesgo en situaciones de emergencia, permitiría comprender los mecanismos que determinan los beneficios que tiene sobre la adherencia a las normas de prevención, y los perjuicios sobre la memoria subjetiva, que podrían afectar al comportamiento y la calidad de vida de las personas. [EN] The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for our society, which has shown the importance of taking into account the levels of risk perception of the population in emergency situations, and its relationship with cognitive processes. In this context of health emergency, high levels of anxiety and depression have been generated in the population, which has been higher in young adults, with a clear influence on the degree of confidence they show in their mnesic abilities (subjective complaints). This could affect individuals' risk perception and decision making in emergency situations such as the one experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of knowing in greater depth the relationship between perceived risk of contagion and subjective memory complaints lies in the possibility of modulating risk perception through the appropriate transmission of information. In this way we would down-regulate subjective memory deficits in the population, without impairing adherence to prevention norms. Therefore, the aim of this work is to analyze the relationship between the perceived risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and subjective retrospective and prospective memory deficits in a sample of university students. A direct and significant relationship is expected between risk perception and subjective retrospective and prospective memory deficits, independent of health status with the disease (Contagion: No, Don't know, Yes) (H1), but with differences in the size of the relationship. On the other hand, it is expected to be higher in the group of subjects who have passed the disease with respect to the rest of the groups [Contagion-YES (Rho) > Contagion-I DON'T KNOW (Rho) / Contagion-NO (Rho] (H2). For this purpose, we used the following measurement instruments: 1) Sociodemographic questionnaire in which they were asked for information on age, gender, nationality and contact with the disease (have you had COVID-19?), with three options (No, I don't know, Yes). They were also asked, if they had had the disease, about symptoms (None, Very mild, Mild, Moderate, Severe) and possible hospitalization (Yes, No); 2) Prospective and retrospective memory questionnaire (CMPR; González-Ramírez and Mendoza-González, 2011), which consists of 16 questions measuring the frequency with which memory errors are made; 3) Ad hoc questionnaire on risk perception and fear COVID-19, which consists of 9 questions related to the perceived risk of SARS-CoV-2 contagion (contracting the disease COVID-19). The results showed a positive and significant relationship between risk perception, related to the probability of becoming infected and manifesting severe symptomatology, and subjective complaints of retrospective and prospective memory. This relationship was independent of the subjects' contact with the disease (Contagion: No, I don't know, Yes), but with a different size of the relationship, being twice as large in subjects who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (Rho = .679), compared to those who were not infected (Rho = .382) or did not know (Rho = .264). Studying the factors that modulate the perception of risk in emergency situations would allow us to understand the mechanisms that determine the benefits it has on subjective memory, which could affect people's behavior and quality of life. Therefore, there is a need to modulate risk perception in emergency situations because of the differential effect it could have on the population. On the one hand, it could benefit behaviors of adherence to prevention rules and on the other hand, as evidenced in this research, it could increase subjective memory complaints, with a detrimental effect on people's quality of life, even in a young population, such as the one analyzed in this research.