Predicting Social Distancing Intention and Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Integrated Social Cognition Model

Hagger, Martin S.; Smith, Stephanie R.; Keech, Jacob J.; Moyers, Susette A.; Hamilton, Kyra

doi:10.1093/abm/kaaa073

Cited by 169 publications

(194 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Moreover, self-reported protective actions could be inaccurate because of response-set biases (e.g., acquiescence), social desirability, or inaccurate memory. However, self-report is a standard source of information in studies measuring health-protective behaviors in airborne infectious diseases and the COVID-19 outbreak ( Cowling et al, 2010 ; Dryhurst et al, 2020 ; Hagger et al, 2020 ; Lin et al, 2020 ). Future studies might include social desirability scales to check for under- or over-reporting as well as attention checks to improve the validity of self-report data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Perception and Protective Behaviors During the Rise of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy

2021

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Risk perception is important in determining health-protective behavior. During the rise of the COVID-19 epidemic, we tested a comprehensive structural equation model of risk perception to explain adherence to protective behaviors in a crisis context using a survey of 572 Italian citizens. We identified two categories of protective behaviors, labeled promoting hygiene and cleaning, and avoiding social closeness. Social norms and risk perceptions were the more proximal antecedents of both categories. Cultural worldviews, affect, and experience of COVID-19 were the more distal predictors. Promoting hygiene and cleaning was triggered by the negative affective attitude toward coronavirus and mediated by an affective appraisal of risk. The deliberate dimension of risk perception (perceived likelihood) predicted only avoiding social closeness. Social norms predicted both types of behaviors and mediated the relations of cultural worldviews. Individualism (vs. communitarianism), more than hierarchy (vs. egalitarianism), shaped the affective evaluation of coronavirus. The model was an acceptable fit to the data and accounted for 20% and 29% of the variance in promoting hygiene and cleaning, and avoiding social closeness, respectively. The findings were robust to the effect of sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, and zone of the country). Taken together, our findings confirmed the empirical distinction between affective and deliberate processes in risk perception, supported the validity of the affect heuristic, and highlighted the role of social norms as an account for why individualistic people were less likely to follow the prescribed health-protective behaviors. Implications for risk communication are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Perception and Protective Behaviors During the Rise of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy

2021

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“…The predictive role of intentions, perceived severity and susceptibility, and attitudes is compatible with the existing literature that also shows a similar effect. Moreover, a recent study examined the determinants of social distancing in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic from the theory of planned behavior viewpoint [ 21 ]. Their findings indicated that intention and habit were significant predictors of social distancing behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ensuing research examining future outbreaks should systematically investigate existing models in full and compare them to assess their predictive validity and theoretical value. Indeed, several recently published studies have adopted one model through which they examined preventive behavior in the current pandemic context, such as the theory of planned behavior [ 21 ] or the health action process approach [ 29 ]. Also, since the present survey was launched, several scales were developed that assess both COVID-19 related health behavior [ 24 ] and specific predictors such as fear [ 29 ], anxiety [ 30 ], obsession [ 31 ], and stress [ 32 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting health behavior in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Worldwide survey results from early March 2020

Anaki

Sergay

2021

PLoS ONE

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The current pandemic outbreak of the novel COVID-19, which originated from Wuhan in China in late 2019, has eventually spread to six continents with a rising toll of death cases. No vaccine has yet been developed for COVID-19. The compliance of the general public with the advice and regulations of the health authorities and the adoption of effective health behavior regimens are currently the only weapons to effectively cope with the disease. Here we report the results of a worldwide survey (n = 953) conducted between March 2 and March 14, 2020 that sought (a) to identify critical proximal predictors of health behavior relevant to the current situation, (b) to examine their relationships to various demographic characteristics of the population, (c) and to provide a model of health behavior specific to COVID-19. We found that the perceived severity of the disease and susceptibility to it, emotional reactions, and attitudes toward COVID-19 predicted one-third of the preventive behavior variance. Various demographic variables influenced these predictors. Based on the data collected, we constructed, using path analysis, a theoretical model of health behavior. Our results emphasize the need to consider the impact of antecedent variables on actual precautionary behavior and the influence of demographic factors on these antecedent variables. Understanding the complex interplay of these precursors in health behavior will maximize their beneficial role, eliminate maladaptive prevention patterns, and facilitate the eradication of the disease.

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“…In addition, our study was conducted starting immediately after the national lockdown and it was very difficult to collect data that were not based on self-reported responses, due to the limitations that had been imposed, as regards the obligation to maintain physical distancing, and the difficulty of having face-to-face meetings and of bringing participants together in the same place. Future studies might use technological devices, such as phone apps based on GPS tracking ( Hagger et al., 2020 ) as different ways of measuring PDB, although similar approaches would need to comply with the privacy rights of the participants. Finally, consistently with the aims of our study, we measured adolescents’ emotions over the period of a month.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Distancing Behavior: The Role of Emotions, Personality, Motivations, and Moral Decision-Making

Alivernini

Manganelli²,

Girelli

et al. 2020

Journal of Pediatric Psychology

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Objective Physical distancing behavior (PDB) is a key disease prevention strategy for limiting the spread of COVID-19. In order to effectively encourage it among adolescents, it is necessary to understand the associated mental mechanisms. Health behavior theories suggest that emotions, personality, motivation, and moral disengagement could all play a role. On the basis of a longitudinal study, we investigated the importance of these factors in predicting PDB. Methods The participants were 347 adolescents residing in Italy. Data were collected in four waves starting from 1 year before the pandemic. A structural equation model based on health behavior theory was tested. Results After the COVID-19 national lockdown, adolescents experienced fewer positive emotions and more negative emotions compared with 1 year earlier. Nevertheless, these emotional changes, and adolescents’ personality (except for openness to experiences), were not related to the adoption of PDB. Instead, the autonomous motivation of adolescents significantly predicted a higher likelihood to adopt PDB by increasing the intention to engage in this behavior and, more indirectly, by substantially decreasing moral disengagement, which was negatively related to PDB. In contrast, controlled motivation corresponded to significantly higher levels of moral disengagement and predicted less likelihood of adopting PDB. Conclusions Messages and interventions targeted at adolescents should be oriented towards supporting autonomy, emphasizing the personal and social value of PDB. Communications should avoid the use of coercive strategies based on eliciting emotions such as shame and guilt in adolescents who do not adopt PDB, which appear to trigger off mechanisms of moral disengagement.

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Predicting Social Distancing Intention and Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Integrated Social Cognition Model

Cited by 169 publications

References 35 publications

Risk Perception and Protective Behaviors During the Rise of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy

Risk Perception and Protective Behaviors During the Rise of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy

Predicting health behavior in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Worldwide survey results from early March 2020

Physical Distancing Behavior: The Role of Emotions, Personality, Motivations, and Moral Decision-Making

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