Spring 2020 COVID-19 Surge: Prospective Relations between Psychosocial Factors and Guideline Adherence, Mask Wearing, and Symptoms in a U.S. Sample
Background: To date, much of the research on psychosocial correlates of coronavirus guideline adherence is cross-sectional, leaving prospective associations between these factors unaddressed. Additionally, investigations of prospective predictors of mask-wearing, COVID-19 symptoms, and viral testing remain wanting.Purpose: The present study examined prospective relations between psychosocial factors and guideline adherence, mask-wearing, symptoms, and viral testing in a U.S. sample (N = 500) during the initial surge of COVID deaths in the U.S. between late March and early May, 2020.Methods: Guided by a disposition-belief-motivation framework, correlational analyses and path models tested associations among baseline personality traits, guideline adherence social cognitions, health beliefs, guideline adherence and follow-up guideline adherence, mask-wearing, symptom counts, and 30-day viral testing. Results: Modeling results showed greater baseline agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion were associated with more frequent baseline guideline adherence. More liberal political beliefs, greater guideline adherence intentions, and more frequent guideline adherence at baseline predicted more frequent mask-wearing at follow-up. Sex (female), lower perceived health, and greater neuroticism at baseline predicted greater symptom counts at follow-up. Reports of viral testing were quite low (1.80 %) yet were consistent with concurrent national reporting and limited availability of testing.Conclusions: Results show how inconsistencies and politization of health policy communication were concomitant with effects of individual-level political beliefs on mask-wearing during the initial surge. The results further clarify how personality traits related to social responsibility (i.e., agreeableness, conscientiousness) are associated with following new norms for prescribed behaviors and how symptom reporting can be as much a marker of perceived health as emotional stability.