Determinants of Behavioral Changes Since COVID-19 among Middle School Students

Abstract

Middle school students are of particular interest when examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic because they are in a formative period for socioemotional development, and because they are not as mature as adults, making them more vulnerable to the effects of the current pandemic. This study seeks to examine determinants of protective behavior changes since COVID-19 among middle school students. Participants were recruited through an official online flatform used by public schools. The final sample included 328 middle school students in South Korea. A multiple linear regression was conducted to explore what factors influence protective behavior changes since COVID-19. Gender and health status were associated with protective behavior changes since COVID-19. Family satisfaction was positively associated with protective behavior changes. Levels of sanitation since COVID-19 and perceptions regarding the risk of COVID-19 were significantly related to protective behavior changes. This study suggests to consider three factors–individual, family, and environmental—in order to prevent middle school students from contracting and spreading the virus.

Fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence of social distancing adherence from a panel study of young adults in Switzerland

“…There are numerous studies describing and investigating compliance with Covid-19 measures in various countries, particularly for the US [2][3][4][5][6][7], Germany [8], Italy [9], Switzerland [1,10], Slovakia [11], Israel [12], South Korea [13], Japan [14], Indonesia [15], or Co ˆte d'Ivoire [16]. Even though many of these studies only use opportunity samples or student samples, a few consistent results have still emerged.…”

“…However, there are also some socio-demographic differences. Thus, women adhere more often to preventive measures than do men [1,5,7,10,[13][14][15]. Less consistent are the findings concerning age.…”

“…More interesting are findings concerning individuals' psychological dispositions like selfcontrol, trust in government and health institutions, and risk perception. Not surprisingly, subjects perceiving a higher risk of becoming infected exhibit more preventive behaviors (e. g. [7,8,11,13,14]. There are a number of studies investigating the effect of certain psychological dispositions on non-compliance with coronavirus safety measures.…”

Dual Mediating Effects of Information and Communication Technology Resources and Family Satisfaction on COVID-19 Knowledge Among Middle School Students

“…In South Korea, there have been nearly 97,000 confirmed cases and 1,700 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 since the country's first reported case in January 2020 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the virus have greatly affected everyone, but adolescents are particularly affected by prevention measures such as the transition to online schooling (Lee et al, 2021). Research has shown that knowledge regarding the risk of COVID-19 is associated with increased engagement in protective behaviors among middle school students (Lee et al, 2021).…”

“…Social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the virus have greatly affected everyone, but adolescents are particularly affected by prevention measures such as the transition to online schooling (Lee et al, 2021). Research has shown that knowledge regarding the risk of COVID-19 is associated with increased engagement in protective behaviors among middle school students (Lee et al, 2021). Thus, it is of interest to examine what factors may influence middle school students’ knowledge of COVID-19, including their access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources, such as broadband internet, computers, or tablets, as well as their relationship with family members, as COVID-19 preventive social distancing measures have caused people to spend more time at home with family, as well as to rely on ICT resources to attend school or work or to safely communicate with people outside their immediate household (Fegertet al, 2020; Wiederhold, 2020).…”