Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly left a profound impact on the world and
deeply affected individuals everyday lives. As a novel infectious disease that originated in
Wuhan, China, it spread rapidly across the globe and brought with it a wide range od health,
psychological and social challenges. Due to the ra
pid spread of the virus, for which there is
no known cure, preventive measures and responsible individual behaviour have been key in
limiting the spread of the virus. During this time, notable changes in human behavior
emerged. which have been significantly influenced by demographic factors and
psychological resilience. Purpose: Our research focused primarily on the population's
response to emergencies, examining the impact of demographic factors such as age, gender
and education while also taking into account the role of psychological resilience. Methods:
The master's thesis is divided into a theoretical and an empirical part. In the theoretical part,
we used a descriptive research method by reviewing domestic and international literature
and other relevant sources. In the empirical part, we used a questionnaire survey, which was
part of the international research project: COVID-19, personality and quality of life, Self
enhancement in the time of pandemic. Results: At the time of completing the questionnaire,
respondents did not express excessive fear of COVID-19, which further confirmed the lack
of typical psychophysiological stress responses. Stress perception is strongly influenced by
information. Individuals who were well-informed reported less fear of infection with SARS
CoV-2. Hand hygiene as a preventive measure was recognised and accepted, but there is still
a relatively high proportion of those who doubt this measure. Restricting contact in
combination with other preventive measures can efectively reduce the spread of the virus.
This measure was also largely a trigger for mass shopping, which stems from fear of the
unknown, and is also heavily influenced by the media and the way they report on
emergencies. Respondents aged 51 years and older expressed greater fear of SARS-Cov-2
infection but were better able to cope with emergencies, due to psychological resilience
developed over the years, they were better able to cope with the emergency situation. In
contrast, higher levels of depression were observed among younger individuals, for whom
the virus did not pose a significant threat. We did not find statistically significant differences
in behaviour by gender in our questionnaire, but according to the literature from abroad,
these do exist and women expressed the greatest concern about COVID-19. Concerning
behavior related to age, a surprising result was observed in mask-wearing, as the majority of
respondents under 30 years of age reported adherence to this preventive measure. Discussion
and conclusion: The survey was conducted after the first wave of the epidemic, when the
virus was already somewhat known and a lot of information and guidance on prevention was
available, which may have influenced respondents' risk perceptions and behaviour. In testing
the hypotheses, we largely arrived at similar findings as authors abroad. The COVID-19
pandemic has had a profound impact on the daily lives of individuals and has led to radical
changes at both the social and health levels that have persisted in the post-corona period.The
experience of the epidemic has shown that uniform measures and messages are not equally
effective for all segments of society; therefore, communication and support measures need
to be tailored to the specific needs of different population groups.
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