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.
Highlights
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
From washing hands to getting vaccinated, individual health behavior is the most important defense to curb the spread of the virus 1,2, behavioral sciences need to be leveraged to build trust that encourages individuals to fully utilize public health recommendations 3
We tested whether the hypothesized predictors were reliably associated with changes in health behavior and support for public health recommendations, while controlling for stability of the dependent variable and the influence of age, gender, employment status, education, religion, political view, date survey taken, time interval between measurements, as well as subjective proximity to COVID-19 cases
Summary
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 containmentrelated attitudes and behavior. Recent findings indicate that perceived economic risk is positively related to mitigation behavior and policy support 8 Given these insights, we hypothesize that personal risk perception regarding COVID-19 predicts willingness to engage in protective health behaviors and support for pandemic response related policies. We hypothesize that personal risk perception regarding COVID-19 predicts willingness to engage in protective health behaviors and support for pandemic response related policies This hypothesis has not previously been tested longitudinally, claims of causality are not possible
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