COVID-19 Experiences and Social Distancing: Insights From the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study is to identify the relationship between COVID-19 experiences, perceived COVID-19 behavioral control, social norms and attitudes, and future intention to follow social distancing guidelines. Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Setting: Participants responded to an on-line survey in June 2020. Subjects: The study included 3,183 residents within Quebec, Canada aged 18 and over. Measures: Measures include perceived COVID-19 related discrimination, fear of COVID-19 infection, prior exposure to COVID-19, and prior social distancing behavior. Participants self-reported attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and perceived norms related to social distancing. Finally, we measured social distancing behavioral intention. Analysis: We evaluated a theory of planned behavior (TPB) measurement model of social distancing using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The association between COVID-19 perceived discrimination, fear of infection, previous social distancing behavior, exposure to COVID-19, TPB constructs and behavioral intentions to social distance were estimated using SEM path analysis. Results: TPB constructs were positively associated with intention to follow social distancing guidelines. Fear of COVID-19 infection and prior social distancing behavior were positively associated with behavioral intentions. In contrast, perceived discrimination was negatively associated with the outcome. Associations between fear of COVID-19, perceived COVID-19 discrimination and behavioral intentions were partially mediated by constructs of TPB. Conclusions: COVID-19 prevention efforts designed to emphasize positive attitudes, perceived control, and social norms around social distancing should carefully balance campaigns that heighten fear of infection along with anti- discrimination messaging.

People underestimate the change of airborne Corona virus exposure when changing distance to an infected person: On interpersonal distance, exposure time, face masks and perceived virus exposure

“…23, p< 0.05, “avoiding public spaces”, R= 0.52, p<0.001 and “canceled or postponed meetings with friends” R = 0.49, p<0.001. These results corroborate the earlier findings (Bruine de Bruin & Bennett, 2020; Frounfelker et al,2021; Shilo, Peleg & Nudelman, 2021; Vacondio et al, 2021). However, there were no significant correlations with this worry variable and D incr or T decr .…”

“…When a person indicated a greater safety distance, he or she had a stronger belief in following advice of distance and wearing a mask. As predicted from other research (Bruine de Bruin & Bennett, 2020; Frounfelker et al,2021; Shilo, Peleg & Nudelman, 2021; Vacondio et al, 2021) worry over becoming sick with Covid-19 correlated with belief in following advice , R (141) = 0.48, p <0.001.…”

“…However, the fact that a linear function is easy to apply and elicit (Svenson, 2016) indicates that judgments of the effect of exposure time will not be systematically biased. Research has shown that worry is one of the important drivers of protective behaviors (Bruine de Bruin & Bennett, 2020; Frounfelker et al,2021; Shilo, Peleg & Nudelman, 2021; Vacondio et al, 2021) and therefore we predicted that worry should correlate positively with protective behavior also in the present study.…”

Barriers to and Facilitators of COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors Among North Carolina Residents

“…The most common barriers to physical distancing endorsed by participants included unfavorable social norms, efficacy doubts, and distancing fatigue while injunctive social norms were the strongest independent predictor of physical distancing adherence in our hypothesis tests. Other studies have found similar connections between social norms for social distancing and distancing behaviors or intentions ( Frounfelker et al, 2021 ; Norman et al, 2020 ), with one study suggesting that norms for social distancing may be influential as a signal to individuals about the seriousness of COVID-19 as a public health threat ( Norton et al, 2021 ). To best leverage injunctive norms to promote physical distancing adherence, messaging and conversations promoting physical distancing may be most influential if they are received from a person an individual perceives as sharing a common identity or being a member of the same in-group as them ( Abrams et al, 1990 ; Centola, 2011 ; Van Bavel et al, 2020 ); thus, messages from peers and leaders of groups that individuals identify with (e.g., political and religious leaders) may be most influential.…”

Gender Differences and Changes in Social Participation Among the Elderly in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Cross-Sectional Survey

“…We consider that this decrease can be explained as follows. Regarding physical activity, although physical activity could be maintained by replacing it with exercise alone or with the family or by hobbies, social distancing was emphasized by the mass media as a social norm 23 , and concern about infecting others increased 15 . This lead to behaviors to avoid social participation.…”