Predictors of adherence to public health behaviors for fighting COVID-19 derived from longitudinal data

Abstract

The present paper examines longitudinally how subjective perceptions about COVID-19, one’s community, and the government predict adherence to public health measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Using an international survey (N = 3040), we test how infection risk perception, trust in the governmental response and communications about COVID-19, conspiracy beliefs, social norms on distancing, tightness of culture, and community punishment predict various containment-related attitudes and behavior. Autoregressive analyses indicate that, at the personal level, personal hygiene behavior was predicted by personal infection risk perception. At social level, social distancing behaviors such as abstaining from face-to-face contact were predicted by perceived social norms. Support for behavioral mandates was predicted by confidence in the government and cultural tightness, whereas support for anti-lockdown protests was predicted by (lower) perceived clarity of communication about the virus. Results are discussed in light of policy implications and creating effective interventions.

Knowledge of Human Monkeypox and Its Relation to Conspiracy Beliefs among Students in Jordanian Health Schools: Filling the Knowledge Gap on Emerging Zoonotic Viruses

“…The belief in conspiratorial ideas, particularly those involving health-related topics, is widespread [ 56 ]. Conspiratorial beliefs can result in negative consequences by abstaining from adhering to appropriate health behaviors among those endorsing such beliefs [ 45 , 57 , 58 ].…”

Evaluating expectations from social and behavioral science about COVID-19 and lessons for the next pandemic

“…While matters such as polarization and vaccine hesitancy were discussed in the 2020 article and turned out to be clearly relevant, other themes not specified originally were widely studied. For example, political divisions were not the only reasons individuals refused or delayed vaccination 133,134 as there was also evidence of general willful refusal to follow public health guidelines (whether masking, social distancing, isolating when sick, avoiding unnecessary travel, vaccine hesitancy, and so on) in some quarters 135 . In this regard, explicit, manifest behaviors based on demographics and individual differences 136 should also be reviewed as they have not been covered here.…”

Warmth and competence perceptions of key protagonists are associated with containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 35 countries

“…Previous studies suggested a number of factors that influence the degree to which people in different societies supported or rejected COVID-19 pandemic-related health behaviors, including selfinterest, pro-sociality, religiosity, conspiracy beliefs, trust, national identification, perceived effectiveness, and quality of institutions (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). In this paper, we argue that in order to understand why people support or oppose certain measures, it is crucial to understand (I) which individuals, groups, social movements, or organizations (referred to as 'protagonists' in the following) people identify as relevant and (II) how they are evaluated.…”