Optimistic bias about COVID-19 infection susceptibility across demographics in Pakistan

Backgrounds: Optimistic bias in terms of risk estimates about COVID-19 infection susceptibility in Pakistani population is a threat which will cause horrifying results, just like Italy, France, and USA. We present estimates of perceived risk of COVID-19 infection susceptibility across demographics in Pakistani population.
Methods: In the last week of may, 2020, an online survey (N = 440) was conducted in Pakistan. A questionnaire was developed in Urdu language about people’s perceptions of risk judgments about COVID-19 infection susceptibility.
Findings: Estimate of perceived risk of COVID-19 infection for one’s self was low than for the others. These irrationally optimistic estimates about COVID-19 infection susceptibility were consistent across gender, age levels, and education levels.
Conclusion: Results of this survey were consistent with the previous researches, representing that people are optimistically biased about the susceptible for COVID-19 infection. Further studies are needed to find out the caused of optimistic bias and its effects on actual protective behaviors.