Association of COVID-19 Misinformation with Face Mask Wearing and Social Distancing in a Nationally Representative US Sample

Abstract

Wide-spread misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges for communicating public health recommendations. Should campaigns to promote protective behaviors focus on debunking misinformation or targeting behavior-specific beliefs? To address this question, we examine whether belief in COVID-19 misinformation is directly associated with two behaviors (face mask wearing and social distancing), and whether behavior-specific beliefs can account for this association and better predict behavior, consistent with behavior-change theory. We conducted a nationally representative two-wave survey of U.S. adults from 5/26/20-6/12/20 (n=1074) and 7/15/20-7/21//20 (n=889; follow up response 83%). Scales were developed and validated for COVID-19 related misinformation beliefs, social distancing and face mask wearing, and beliefs about the consequences of both behaviors. Cross-lagged panel linear regression models assessed relationships among the variables. While belief in misinformation was negatively associated with both face mask wearing (B= -.27, SE=.06) and social distancing behaviors (B= -.46, SE=.08) measured at the same time, misinformation did not predict concurrent or lagged behavior when the behavior-specific beliefs were incorporated in the models. Beliefs about behavioral outcomes accounted for face mask wearing and social distancing, both cross-sectionally (B= .43, SE=.05; B= .63, SE=.09) and lagged over time (B= .20, SE=04; B= .30, SE=.08). In conclusion, belief in COVID-19-related misinformation is less relevant to protective behaviors, but beliefs about the consequences of these behaviors are important predictors. With regard to misinformation, we recommend health campaigns aimed at promoting protective behaviors emphasize the benefits of these behaviors, rather than debunking unrelated false claims

Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: a systematic review

“…Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories is associated with lower scientific 61 and analytical 10,13,23,36,61,[68][69][70][71] reasoning, and less correct knowledge but more false beliefs about COVID-19 61 . Similarly, low levels of education are frequently associated with belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories 9,15,27,28 . Rather than following analytical reasoning, people believing in conspiracy theories seem to more follow their intuitions, as they are more likely to infer relationships between unrelated phenomena 13 and to endorse epistemically suspect beliefs 5,7,18,19,28,52,61 , while conspiracy belief is lower for those who engage in flexible and critical thinking and who question their own ideas 10,70 .…”

“…People who are white have been found to endorse COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs less often than other ethnic groups in the United Kingdom 5 , whereas a higher percentage of Black people than other ethnicities do endorse them in the United States 22 . Individuals with lower (vs. higher) income tend to hold stronger beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories 9,15,24,27 , as do individuals with lower (vs. higher) levels of education 9,15,27,28 . This may, however, depend on the type of conspiracy theory.…”

Stratified Random Sampling Methodology for Observing Community Mask Use within Indoor Settings: Results from Louisville, Kentucky during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…26 Future studies examining mask-wearing behavior should include data points about individual behavior beliefs, protective beliefs, beliefs about infectious diseases, and misinformation beliefs. 28 The findings showed that unmasked visitors and incorrectly masked visitors ranged from 2% to 5% and 9% to 18%, respectively, across different retail stores (Fig 2). Also, unmasked and incorrectly masked staff in the retail stores ranged from 5% to 11% and 8% to 16%, respectively (Fig 2).…”

“…26 Future studies examining mask-wearing behavior should include data points about individual behavior beliefs, protective beliefs, beliefs about infectious diseases, and misinformation beliefs. 28…”

Timeliness of provisional United States mortality data releases during the COVID-19 pandemic: delays associated with electronic death registration system and weekly mortality

“…During the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that excess mortality exceeds the official Covid-19 mortality count (1), which may be due to underdiagnosed Covid-19 due to low test access, atypical Covid-19 presentation, reduced healthcare seeking for acute non-Covid-19 conditions (2), or etiologically nonspecific death reporting (3). Despite excess deaths, the infodemic accompanying Covid-19 included misinformation that Covid-19 mortality was exaggerated (4) (5), and belief in misinformation is cross-sectionally associated with adherence to Covid-19 prevention measures such as mask-wearing (6).…”