Socioeconomic factors correlated with social distancing

Abstract

Social distancing and the like have been indicated as effective measures to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus. This study investigated what is the likelihood of one fulfilling social distancing considering his/her socioeconomic characteristics, financial conditions, and stand on it. To do so, an online questionnaire was sent to a convenience sample from which we obtained 193 valid respondents. The data were analyzed through logistic regression. Two models were tested. One coding education level as a categorical variable and another coding it as a continuous variable expressed in years of study. Education level as well as years of study, and people’s opinion on the effectiveness of social distancing have a significant correlation with the likelihood of fulfilling social distancing (LFSD). These two variables explain about 10% of the variation in LFSD. Future studies should investigate what other variables, such as geographic region, could be added to the model to enhance its predictive power.