Robinson, J.M. orcid.org/0000-0001-8108-3271, Cameron, R. orcid.org/0000-0002-7786-0581 and Jorgensen, A. orcid.org/0000-0001-5614-567X (Submitted: 2021) Germaphobia! Does our relationship with, and knowledge of biodiversity affect our attitudes towards microbes? bioRxiv. (Submitted)
Abstract
Germaphobia –– a pathological aversion to microorganisms –– could be contributing to an explosion in human immune-related disorders via mass sterilisation of surfaces and reduced exposure to biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity and our connectedness to nature, along with poor microbial literacy may be augmenting the negative consequences of germaphobia on ecosystem health. In this study, we created an online questionnaire to acquire data on attitudes towards, and knowledge of microbes. We collected data on nature connectedness and interactions with nature and explored the relationships between these variables. We found a significant association between attitudes towards microbes and both duration and frequency of visits to natural environments. A higher frequency of visits to nature per week, and a longer duration spent in nature per visit, significantly associated with positive attitudes towards microbes. We found no association between nature connectedness and attitudes towards microbes. We found a significant relationship between knowledge of ‘lesser known’ microbial groups (e.g., identifying that fungi, algae, protozoa, and archaea are microbes) and positive attitudes towards microbes. However, we also found that people who correctly identified viruses as being microbes expressed less positive views of microbes overall –– this could potentially be attributed to a ‘COVID-19 effect’. Our results suggest that basic microbial literacy and nature engagement may be important in reducing/preventing germaphobia. The results also suggest that a virus-centric phenomenon (e.g., COVID-19) could increase broader germaphobia. As the rise of immune-related disorders and mental health conditions have been linked to germaphobia, reduced biodiversity, and non-targeted sterilisation, our findings point to a feasible strategy to potentially help ameliorate these negative consequences. A greater emphasis on microbial literacy and promoting time spent in nature could be useful in promoting resilience in human health and more positive/constructive attitudes towards the foundations of our ecosystems – the microorganisms.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. Preprint made available under a CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/). |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Landscape Architecture (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Economic and Social Research Council 1949774 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 May 2022 08:19 |
Last Modified: | 22 May 2022 07:14 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.678752 |
Status: | Submitted |
Publisher: | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |
Identification Number: | 10.1101/2021.02.08.430200 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:186811 |