Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak has generated significant uncertainty about the future, especially for young adults. Health and economic threats, as well as more diffuse concerns about the consequences of COVID-19, can trigger feelings of anxiety, leading individuals to adopt uncertainty-reducing behaviours. We tested whether anxiety was associated with an increase in willingness to be exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection (WiRE) using an online survey administered to 3,110 French individuals aged between 18 and 35 years old during the lockdown period (April 2020). Overall, 56.5% of the sample declared a positive WiRE. Unemployment was associated with a higher WiRE (+8.2 percentage points (pp); 95% CI +0.9-15.4 pp). One standard deviation increases in income (+1160€) and psychological state anxiety raised the WiRE by +2.7 pp (95% CI: +1.1-4.4 pp) and +3.9 pp (95% CI: +1.6-6.2 pp), respectively. A one standard deviation increase in perceived hospitalisation risk was associated with a -4.1 pp (95% CI: -6.2-2.1 pp) decrease in the WiRE. Overall, our results suggest that both the prospect of economic losses and psychological anxiety can undermine young adults’ adherence to physical distancing recommendations. Public policies targeting young adults must consider both their economic situation and their mental health, and they must use uncertainty-reducing communication strategies.
Highlights
Many governments have “flattened the curve” of the first wave of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) pandemic by implementing stringent restrictions on individuals’ freedom of movement and socialisation
We tested whether anxiety was associated with an increase in willingness to be exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection (WiRE) using an online survey administered to 3,110 French individuals aged between 18 and 35 years old during the lockdown period (April 2020)
95% of the respondents were born in France, 53.7% had attended higher education, and half of them were living with a partner
Summary
Many governments have “flattened the curve” of the first wave of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) pandemic by implementing stringent restrictions on individuals’ freedom of movement and socialisation. Once the first wave subsided, they switched to lighter containment strategies based on physical distancing, population testing, contact tracing, and isolation and treatment. While this approach has helped balance social and economic needs within the capacity of the health system[1,2,3,4], its effectiveness crucially depends on the willingness of individuals to comply with physical distancing requirements and testing recommendations[5,6,7,8]. Possible explanations for the reduced prevention efforts among young adults include belief in their low level of health risk, “distancing fatigue”, and the need for social interactions after two months of lockdown and many additional weeks with severe restrictions on social venues.
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