Abstract
Social distancing was found to prevent COVID-19 contagion. Therefore, understanding the factors associated with the public’s adherence is important. Acknowledging the importance of emotional wellbeing regarding older people’s health, and understanding their emotional state during the pandemic, are crucial. This study assessed factors associated with older people’s adherence to social distancing and their emotional status. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 1822 respondents above the age of 60. Distancing adherence, negative emotion, trust, social support, threat perception, attitudes, and subjective norms were assessed, and a path analysis was performed. Adherence was positively associated with attitudes (β = 0.10; p < 0.001), and with subjective norms (β = 0.19; p < 0.001). Negative emotions were positively associated with threat perception (β = 0.33; p < 0.001), and negatively associated with social support (β = −0.13; p < 0.001) and subjective norms (β = −0.10; p < 0.001). Attitudes mediated the relationship of threat perception (95% CI = 0.009, 0.034), trust (95% CI = 0.008, 0.029), and social support (95% CI = 0.006, 0.023) with distancing adherence. Subjective norms mediated the relationship between threat perception (95% CI = 0.014, 0.034), trust (95% CI = 0.026, 0.055), and social support (95% CI = 0.002, 0.048) with distancing adherence. Subjective norms mediated the relationship between threat perception (95% CI = −0.022, −0.006), trust (95% CI = −0.034, −0.010), and social support (95% CI = −0.029, −0.009) with negative emotions. When promoting social distancing adherence, subjective norms and attitudes must be considered, as they play a role in promoting adherence and negative-emotion regulation.
Highlights
In order to prevent the public from contracting the disease and contain the epidemic, a number of guidelines were issued by the WHO, including social distancing and isolation [1]
Since older people are considered at high risk for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, adhering to distancing instructions is of the utmost importance
Efforts should be invested in addressing the reliability of messages regarding COVID-19 and discovering creative ways of raising social support during lockdowns
Summary
COVID-19 is an infectious disease transmitted through small droplets and human touch. It was declared a global pandemic by the WHO in March 2020 [1]. According to data currently accumulated globally, people over 60 years of age are among the populations with the highest risk of COVID-19 morbidity, complications, and mortality [2]. In order to prevent the public from contracting the disease and contain the epidemic, a number of guidelines were issued by the WHO, including social distancing and isolation [1]. The participants described social distancing and isolation as having a substantial negative impact on their wellbeing [3]
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