fear and covid-19 protective behaviors among high school students in hamadan, iran; application of an extended parallel process model

Aims: throughout the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, the role of students in transmitting the infection has received special attention aiming at protecting the younger generation against covid-19 and other known respiratory diseases. this research aimed to specify factors related to covid-19 preventing behaviors in high school students. instrument & methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 2852 students aged 13 to 18 in hamadan in 2020. participants were selected using the multistage cluster sampling method. the data were collected with a researcher-made eppm questionnaire. data were analyzed statistically by stata 14.2 software using the chi-square and fisher's exact tests. findings: the vast majority of students (67.02%) were in the danger control response phase. the response efficacy (77.3%) and perceived efficacy (75.3%) had the highest percentage of the mean from the maximum obtainable score among constructs of the model. there was a significant difference between categories of the eppm model with doing healthy behaviors. moreover, the proportion of doing health behaviors was significantly higher in students in the danger control phase. conclusion: the predominance of the perceived threat of covid-19 on the perceived efficacy affects preventive health behaviors. therefore, a theory-based behavioral modification program can be developed based on gender among high school students. higher grade students and poor socioeconomic status require intense educational interventions to modify their hygienic behaviors.