Political orientation and adherence to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy

Abstract

Many governments have implemented social distancing and lockdown measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Using province-level geolocation data from Italy, we document that political disbelief can limit government policy effectiveness. Residents in provinces leaning towards extreme right-wing parties show lower rates of compliance with social distancing order. We also find that, during the Italian lockdown, provinces with high protest votes virtually disregarded all social distancing orders. On the contrary, in provinces with higher political support for the current political legislation, we found a higher degree of social distancing compliance. These results are robust to controlling for other factors, including time, geography, local COVID-19 cases and deaths, healthcare hospital beds, and other sociodemographic and economic characteristics. Our research shows that bipartisan support and national responsibility are essential to implement and manage social distancing efficiently. From a broader perspective, our findings suggest that partisan politics and discontent with the political class (i.e., protest voting) might significantly affect human health and the economy.

Risk perceptions and COVID-19 protective behaviors: A two-wave longitudinal study of epidemic and post-epidemic periods

“…In our study, social pressure to prevent coronavirus infection declined over time. This finding might explain, at least in part, the observed decrease in social distancing, which, by definition, is influenced by the actions of others and what others would do or approve ( Barbieri and Bonini, 2021 ). By contrast, promoting hygiene and cleaning depends on the person's will, can occur regardless of what others think or do, and was more enforced than social distancing in the post epidemic period.…”

To wear or not to wear? Unpacking the #NoMask discourses and conversations on Twitter

“…Problematically, in this scenario health-related misinformation has been spread to back-up what are mainly political considerations. Because of their features and algorithmic architecture, social media had a major role in this context, facilitating the promotion of political agendas through the dissemination of health misinformation and enabling the capitalization of the political narrative linking the discontent caused by the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic to specific political ideologies, in line with recently published literature carried out in the context of the pandemic looking, among other things, at partisan motivated reasoning and selective sharing (Barbieri and Bonini 2021 ; Freiling et al 2021 ; Lavorgna 2021 ; Rooke 2021 ). The rise of a ‘no-mask’ or ‘anti-mask’ movement in many Western countries has been reported, and compared with the anti-vax movement as activists became a vocal force in opposing important preventative efforts for public health (Politico 2020b ).…”

Saúde mental na segunda onda da pandemia de Coronavirus Disease 2019 no Brasil*

“…Moreover, conservatism and right-wing partisanship predicted refusal to engage in health behaviors to combat the pandemic worldwide. [56][57][58][59] There are contextual elements that require attention, such as the political scenario where the pandemic occurs. The Brazilian government was led by an authoritarian and aggressive figure, who made frequent threats against democratic institutions, fostering a climate of apprehension that could interfere with mental health -especially in the case of individuals who did not support the ongoing policies and trends.…”