Preventive Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations With Perceived Behavioral Control, Attitudes, and Subjective Norm

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious and potentially fatal infectious disease that has swept the globe. To reduce the spread, it is important to engage in preventive behaviors recommended by health authorities, such as washing your hands, wearing a face mask, and social distancing.Aim: In the present study, we draw from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine the associations between perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and subjective norm and whether people engage in eight different preventive behaviors.Methods: For each of the preventive behaviors (washing hands; using hand sanitizer; not touching your face; social distancing; wearing a face mask; disinfecting surfaces; coughing in your elbow; staying home if sick), we conducted separate logistic regressions predicting whether the participants (N = 2,256; age range = 18–98 years) reported engaging in the behavior from their perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and subjective norm.Results: We found that perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and subjective norm had independent significant associations with each preventive behavior. Moderation analyses revealed that for most behaviors the associations with perceived behavioral control were stronger for older adults than for younger adults.Limitation: The present study was cross-sectional; future longitudinal studies and interventions are needed to disentangle directionality.Conclusion: Our findings suggest several ways to increase adherence to health behaviors that reduce the spread of coronavirus and other infectious diseases.

Impact of a Banning Indoor Dining Policy on Restaurant Avoidance Behavior during the COVID-19 Outbreak

“…Pandey et al [ 46 ] have extended TPB theory to focus on food consumers’ attitudes and even perceived behavioral control so as to understand consumers’ behavioral intentions. There is evidence that the three constructs of TPB theory are important predictors of preventative behavior [ 47 ]. If the public is to take preventive action after receiving information, they need to believe that the action is effective.…”

COVID-19 Preventive Behavior Practices and Determinants: A Scoping Review

“…Most of the authors of the selected studies used self-developed questionnaires to identify the implementation of COVID-19 preventive behaviors. All instruments were developed from literature or previous study and/or combining with the WHO guidelines [18], [19], [20], [21], [22] and CDC guidelines [22], [23], H1N1 epidemic [24], HIV-related surveys [25], [26], SARrelated study [13], and each Ministry of Health (MOH) guideline in each country [19], [20], [21], [22]. Moreover, only eight authors presented reliability scores of their instruments [18], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [32] and the remaining did not provide clear information about psychometric testing.…”

“…Personal preventive measures which were well-practiced by most respondents in the selected studies are: regular handwashing [13], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [25], [29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42] except Yehualashet et al [26], wearing face masks [13], [19], [21], [22], [23], [24], [29], [30], [31], [34], [35], [36], [38], [39], [40], [41] except 4 studies [26], [33], [37], [42], cough/sneeze etiquette [13], [20], [22], [23], [24], [26],…”

COVID-19 social distancing compliance mechanisms: UK evidence

“…These include environmental factors such as air pollution, wind speeds and atmospheric stability, as well as social and public health-related elements such as SD and social contact. Several studies of SD seek to measure perception-based factors influencing individuals' willingness to adopt COVID-19 prevention measures ( Ahmad et al, 2020 ; Aschwanden et al, 2021 ; Farias and Pilati, 2020 ; Yu et al, 2021 ). Ahmad et al (2020) find that moral norms do not influence willingness to adhere to such measures, whereas government guidelines and personal attitudes are influential.…”

“…This study takes a discrete emotions perspective, studying moral obligation and moral disengagement as two separate constructs rather than as opposite ends of a spectrum. Furthermore, unlike most studies of individuals’ protective behavior, which are primarily cross-sectional (e.g., Aschwanden et al, 2021 ; Ahmad et al, 2020 ; Farias and Pilati, 2020 ), data for this study were collected during three significantly different periods to explain how behaviors change over time. Its three main objectives were: (1) to uncover mechanisms driving or hindering compliance with SD measures; (2) to develop and empirically validate a research framework based on both the NAM and MD in the context of compliance with SD measures in response to COVID-19; and (3) to propose behavioral science-informed nudging mechanisms for use by policymakers and industry practitioners to promote SD to reduce the possibility of another pandemic wave.…”