scholarly journals Psychological Factors Influencing Protective Behaviours during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Capability, Opportunity and Motivation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jilly Gibson-Miller ◽  
Orestis Zavlis ◽  
Todd Hartman ◽  
Orla McBride ◽  
Kate Bennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Spread Of Infection ◽  
Protective Behaviours

This chapter will explore psychological and demographic influences on citizens’ ability to enact protective health behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such behaviours include social distancing and hygienic practices that have been recommended across the globe to reduce the spread of infection from the coronavirus. Such behaviours represent a seismic change in usual social behaviour and have been particularly difficult to adopt under urgent circumstances. However, human behaviour is the essential driver of the rate and spread of infection. Using evidence from a large-scale longitudinal survey conducted throughout the pandemic in the UK, this chapter explores protective behaviours in relation to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model of behaviour change, which presents a framework for understanding the influences on behaviour. We will illustrate how the components of the COM-B model can inform behaviour change interventions and the importance of the role of anxiety in shaping behavioural responses to the pandemic.

Physical Distancing and Social Media Use in Emerging and Older Adults During COVID-19: Large Scale Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Survey Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabo J van Woudenberg ◽  
Roy Hendrikx ◽  
Moniek Buijzen ◽  
Julia CM van Weert ◽  
Bas van den Putte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Random Intercept ◽  
Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND Although emerging adults play a role in the spread of COVID-19, they are less likely to develop severe symptoms after infection. Emerging adults’ relatively high use of social media as source of information raises concerns regarding COVID-19 related behavioral compliance (i.e., physical distancing) in this age group. OBJECTIVE Therefore, the current study investigated physical distancing in emerging adults in comparison to older adults and looked at the role of using social media for COVID-19 news and information in this regard. In addition, this study explored the relation between physical distancing and different social media platforms and sources. METHODS Secondary data of a large-scale national longitudinal survey (N = 123,848, 34.% male) between April and November 2020 were used. Participants indicated, ranging for one to eight waves, how often they were successful in keeping 1.5 meters distance on a 7-point Likert scale. Participants between 18 and 24 years old were considered young adults and older participants were identified as older adults. Also, a dummy variable was created to indicate per wave whether participants used social media for COVID-19 news and information. A subset received follow-up questions asking participants to indicate which platforms they have used and what sources of news and information they had seen on social media. All preregistered hypotheses were tested with Linear Mixed-Effects Models and Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models. RESULTS Emerging adults reported less physical distancing behaviors than older adults (b = -.08, t(86213.83) = -26.79, p < .001). Also, emerging adults were more likely to use social media for COVID-19 news and information (b = 2.48, SE = .11, Wald = 23.66, p = <.001), which mediated the association with physical distancing, but only to a small extend (indirect effect: b = -0.03, 95% CI = [-0.04; -0.02]). Opposed to our hypothesis, the longitudinal Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model showed no evidence that physical distancing was predicted by social media use of the previous wave. However, we did find evidence that using social media affected subsequent physical distancing behavior. Moreover, additional analyses showed that most social media platforms (i.e., YouTube, Facebook and Instagram) and interpersonal communication showed negative associations with physical distancing while others platforms (i.e. LinkedIn and Twitter) and Governmental messages showed no to a slightly positive associations with physical distancing. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, we should be vigilant for physical distancing of emerging adults, but this study give no reason the to worry about the role of social media for COVID-19 news and information. However, as some social media platforms and sources showed negative associations, future studies should more carefully look into these factors to better understand the associations between social media use for news and information, and behavioral interventions in times of crisis.

Ambivalence and Adherence to Measures to Reduce the Spread of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris K. Schneider ◽  
Angela Rachael Dorrough ◽  
Celine Frank
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Pharmaceutical Treatment ◽  
Mixed Emotions ◽  
German Sample ◽  
Mixed Feelings ◽  
Spread Of Infection ◽  
Scale Behavior

The COVID-19 pandemic poses one of the largest behavioral change challenges in the last decades. Because currently, there is no widely available pharmaceutical treatment available to contain the spread of infection, governments worldwide rely – at least to some extent – on behavioral recommendations aimed at reducing spread. The success of this strategy is dependent on the number of people that follow the recommendations. Most recommendations need people to change their behavior or adopt a new behavior. We propose that such behavioral change, with direct costs and delayed benefits, is a source of conflict and mixed feelings. This ambivalence negatively affects adherence to such recommendations. We present three studies that support our hypotheses: the more ambivalent people are about the recommendations, the less they follow them. We also examined the effect of the mixed emotions of hope and worry on adherence and find that it positively relates to adherence. Our findings replicated both in a U.S. sample as well as a representative German sample. Our work is the first to investigate the role of ambivalence in large-scale behavior change and highlight the importance of understanding the conflict that comes with changing behavior. We discuss implications for policy and communication.

Exploring the Role of Enforcement in Promoting Adherence with Protective Behaviours During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freya Mills ◽  
Charles Symons ◽  
Holly Carter
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Specific Barriers ◽  
Protective Behaviours

Purpose: To explore the conditions under which enforcement likely is, or is not, an effective strategy to increase adherence to recommended protective behaviours during COVID-19. Design/Methodology/Approach: Relevant search terms were entered into three key databases (Google Scholar, medXriv, psyArXiv) to identify both peer-reviewed and pre-publication articles that reported empirical data relating to the impact of enforcement on adherence with recommended public health behaviours. Findings: Enforcement is less effective when: it is applied inconsistently; rules are ambiguous; behaviours are unobservable. Providing food and financial support, creating social norms and increasing trust are more effective in addressing specific barriers and fostering voluntary adherence. Where enforcement forms part of the strategy for policing COVID-19 regulations, rules must be clear and local responders must be given time and opportunity to plan their response as new rules are implemented. Research limitations/implications: This narrative review was limited to papers published in English and available either via the databases searched, or via reference searching; some relevant studies may therefore not have been identified. Practical implications: Findings inform an understanding of the impact of enforcement on adherence and facilitate the development of recommendations for increasing adherence to protective behaviours during COVID-19. Given the importance of public adherence, these recommendations are not only useful in the context of COVID-19 but also for future public health emergencies. Originality/value: This narrative review is the first to explore the circumstances under which enforcement can increase or reduce adherence with COVID-19 guidelines, generating recommendations for improved public adherence.

scholarly journals Modelling Socio-Environmental Sensitivities: How Public Responses to Low Carbon Energy Technologies Could Shape the UK Energy System

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brighid Moran Jay ◽  
David Howard ◽  
Nick Hughes ◽  
Jeanette Whitaker ◽  
Gabrial Anandarajah
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Low carbon energy technologies are not deployed in a social vacuum; there are a variety of complex ways in which people understand and engage with these technologies and the changing energy system overall. However, the role of the public’s socio-environmental sensitivities to low carbon energy technologies and their responses to energy deployments does not receive much serious attention in planning decarbonisation pathways to 2050. Resistance to certain resources and technologies based on particular socio-environmental sensitivities would alter the portfolio of options available which could shape how the energy system achieves decarbonisation (the decarbonisation pathway) as well as affecting the cost and achievability of decarbonisation. Thus, this paper presents a series of three modelled scenarios which illustrate the way that a variety of socio-environmental sensitivities could impact the development of the energy system and the decarbonisation pathway. The scenarios represent risk aversion (DREAD) which avoids deployment of potentially unsafe large-scale technology, local protectionism (NIMBY) that constrains systems to their existing spatial footprint, and environmental awareness (ECO) where protection of natural resources is paramount. Very different solutions for all three sets of constraints are identified; some seem slightly implausible (DREAD) and all show increased cost (especially in ECO).

scholarly journals Bulk Collection

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Personal Privacy ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Access To Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Systematic Collection ◽  
Initial Research

In June 2013, Edward Snowden revealed a secret US government program that collected records on every phone call made in the country. Further disclosures followed, detailing mass surveillance by the UK as well. Journalists and policymakers soon began discussing large-scale programs in other countries. Over two years before the Snowden leaks began, Cate and Dempsey had started researching systematic collection. Leading an initiative sponsored by The Privacy Projects, they commissioned a series of country reports, asking national experts to uncover what they could about government demands that telecommunications providers and other private-sector companies disclose information about their customers in bulk. Their initial research found disturbing indications of systematic access in countries around the world. These programs, often undertaken in the name of national security, were cloaked in secrecy and largely immune from oversight, posing serious threats to personal privacy. After the Snowden leaks, the project morphed into something more ambitious: an effort to explore what should be the rules for government access to data and how companies should respond to those demands within the framework of corporate responsibility. This volume concludes the nearly six-year project. It assembles 12 country reports, updated to reflect recent developments. One chapter presents both descriptive and normative frameworks for analyzing national surveillance laws. Others examine international law, human rights law, and oversight mechanisms. Still others explore the concept of accountability and the role of encryption in shaping the surveillance debate. In their conclusion, Cate and Dempsey offer recommendations for both government and industry.

The Chicken or Egg Question of Adolescents’ Political Involvement

2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Šerek ◽  
Hana Machackova ◽  
Petr Macek
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
The Political ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Longitudinal Effects

Abstract. Research on the political behavior of young people often approaches psychological factors such as political efficacy or interest as antecedents of political participation. This study examines whether efficacy and interest are also outcomes of participation and if this effect differs across three types of political participation. Data from a two-wave longitudinal survey of 768 Czech adolescents (aged 14–17 years at Time 1, 54% females) was used. Findings support the proposition that psychological factors are affected by participatory experiences. Cross-lagged models showed longitudinal effects from participation to changes in psychological factors, but not effects in the opposite direction. Protest participation predicted higher interest and internal political efficacy, but lower external political efficacy, volunteering predicted higher external political efficacy, and representational participation had no effects on psychological factors. Overall, our findings point out the formative role of participatory experiences in adolescence and the diverse effects of different types of political participation on political development.

Urban planners and the production of gated communities in China: A structure–agency approach

Urban Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (13) ◽  
pp. 2635-2653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaihuai Liao ◽  
Rainer Wehrhahn ◽  
Werner Breitung
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gated Communities ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Professional Perspectives ◽  
Large Scale Survey

This study takes an actor-oriented perspective and focuses on the role of urban planners in the production of gated communities in China. It probes their related values and the structural factors influencing their preferences and planning choices. The main empirical basis is a large-scale survey of urban planners throughout China. The results show for example that most of the surveyed planners are residents of gated communities themselves. This is highly important, because their residential experiences and middle-class identities are likely to affect their values and professional perspectives. Their attitudes towards gating furthermore strongly correlate with the views of the local governments for whom they work, which is understandable in view of the prevailing power structures. It is found that most planners either support gated communities or do not see much leverage to act against them, but that many are able to achieve amendments to reduce negative effects of gating.

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