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Reducing the spread of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted recommendations for individuals to socially distance. Little is known about the extent to which youth are socially distancing, what motivations underlie their social distancing, and how these motivations are connected with amount of social distancing, mental health, and social health. Using a large sample of adolescents from across the United States, this study examined adolescents' motivations for social distancing, their engagement in social distancing, and their mental and social health. Methods: Data were collected on March 29th and 30th, 2020, two weeks after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in the United States. The sample consisted of 683 adolescents recruited using social media. A series of multiple linear regressions examined unique associations among adolescents' motivations to engage in social distancing, perceived amount of social distancing, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, burdensomeness, and belongingness. Results: Almost all respondents (98.1%) reported engaging in at least a little social distancing. The most commonly reported motivations for social distancing concerned social responsibility and not wanting others to get sick. Motivations concerning state or city lockdowns, parental rules, and social responsibility were associated with greater social distancing, whereas motivations concerning no alternatives were associated with less social distancing. Specific motivations for social distancing were differentially associated with adolescents' anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, burdensomeness, and belongingness. Conclusions: Understanding adolescents' motivations to engage in social distancing may inform strategies to increase social distancing engagement, reduce pathogen transmission, and identify individual differences in mental and social health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: Reducing the spread of infectious disease during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted recommendations for individuals to limit physical contact with others and engage in social distancing. Less is known about why youth are engaging in social distancing and how these motivations are connected with their engagement, mental health, and social health. Using a large sample of adolescents from across the United States, this study examined adolescents’ motivations for social distancing, their engagement in social distancing, and their mental and social health. Methods: Data were collected March 29th and 30th 2020, two-weeks after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in the United States. The sample consisted of 683 adolescents recruited using social media. A series of multiple linear regressions examined unique associations among adolescents’ motivations to engage in social distancing, social distancing behaviors, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, burdensomeness, and belongingness. Results: The most commonly reported motivations for social distancing concerned social responsibility and not wanting others to get sick. Motivations concerning state or city lockdowns, parental rules, and social responsibility were associated with greater social distancing, whereas motivations concerning no alternatives were associated with less social distancing. Engagement in social distancing was not significantly associated with adolescents’ mental or social health. However, specific motivations for social distancing were differentially associated with adolescents’ anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, burdensomeness, and belongingness. Conclusions: Understanding adolescents’ motivations to engage in social distancing may help inform strategies to increase social distancing engagement, reduce pathogen transmission, and improve mental and social health during pandemics.

IMPORTANCE As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads across the world, it is critical to understand the psychological factors associated with pandemic-related behaviors. This perspecitve may be especially important to study among adolescents, who are less likely to experience severe symptoms but contribute to the spread of the virus.OBJECTIVE To examine psychological factors associated with adolescents' behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis self-reported survey conducted from March 20 to 22, 2020, recruited a population-based sample of adolescents via social media to complete an anonymous survey. Participants were eligible if they had internet access, lived in the United States, and were aged 13 to 18 years. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESOutcomes included COVID-19 news monitoring, social distancing, disinfecting, and hoarding behaviors during the 7 days after the United States declared a national emergency. The psychological factors were attitudes about COVID-19 severity, social responsibility values, social trust, and self-interest. The a priori hypotheses were that greater attitudes about the severity of COVID-19, greater social responsibility, and greater social trust would be associated with greater news monitoring, social distancing, and disinfecting, whereas greater self-interest would be associated with more hoarding. RESULTS The sample included 770 adolescents collected via convenience sampling (mean [SD] age, 16.3 [1.1] years; 575 girls [74.7%]). Many teens reported not engaging in pure social distancing (528 [68.6%]), but they were monitoring the news (688 [89.4%]) and disinfecting daily (676 [87.8%]). Some teens reported hoarding (152 [19.7%]). Attitudes about the greater severity of COVID-19 were associated with more social distancing (β = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.25), disinfecting (β = 0.16; 95% CI = 0.08 to 0.23), and news monitoring (β = 0.26; 95% CI = 0.18 to 0.33) but also more hoarding (β = 0.08; 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.16). Greater social responsibility was associated with more disinfecting (β = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.17 to 0.32) and news monitoring (β = 0.14; 95% CI = 0.07 to 0.22) and less hoarding (β = −0.07; 95% CI = −0.14 to −0.01). Greater self-interest values were associated with less social distancing (β = −0.08; 95% CI = −0.15 to −0.01) and more hoarding (β = 0.08; 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.15). Greater social trust was associated with less hoarding (β = −0.09; 95% CI, −0.16 to −0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEThe results of this survey study suggest that emphasizing the severity of COVID-19 and the social implications of pandemic-related behaviors may be important for teens, particularly for those who are not following preventive health behaviors or who are engaging in hoarding.

Importance: As COVID-19 spreads across the globe, it is critical to understand the psychological factors that influence pandemic-related behaviors (i.e., news monitoring, social distancing, hygiene/disinfecting, hoarding). This may be especially important to study among youth, who are less likely to experience severe symptoms but contribute to the spread of the virus.Objective: To examine psychological correlates of adolescents’ behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Self-report survey conducted between March 20th and March 22nd, 2020. Setting: This is an online survey study of youth from the United States.Participants: A population-based sample of adolescents were recruited via social media to complete an anonymous survey. Youth were eligible if they had internet access, lived in the United States, and were between the ages of 13 and 18. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes included COVID-19 news monitoring, social distancing, disinfecting, and hoarding behaviors over the 7 days after the US declared a national emergency. The correlates measured were attitudes about COVID-19 severity, values related to social responsibility, social trust, and self-interest. The a priori hypotheses were that attitudes about the severity of COVID-19, along with greater social responsibility and social trust, would be associated with greater news monitoring, social distancing, and disinfecting, whereas greater self-interest would be associated with more hoarding.Results: The final analytic sample included 770 adolescents (Mage = 16.34, 72% female). The majority of teens reported not engaging in pure social distancing (70%), but were monitoring the news (75%) and engaging in at least one disinfecting behavior multiple times per day (88%). Some teens reported engaging in hoarding behavior (19%). Greater attitudes about the severity of COVID-19 were associated with more social distancing, disinfecting, and news monitoring, but also more hoarding. Greater social responsibility was associated with more disinfecting and news monitoring, and less hoarding. Participants who reported valuing their own self-interest over others reported less social distancing and more hoarding. Greater social trust was associated with less hoarding.Conclusions and Relevance: Emphasizing the severity of COVID-19 and the social implications of pandemic-related behaviors may be important for teens, particularly for those who are not following recommended preventative health behaviors or who are engaging in hoarding.