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1. Does State Tightness-Looseness Predict Behavior and Attitudes Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA?

   https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221221077710  

   Gilliam, Ashley; Schwartz, Danielle B.; Godoy, Ricardo; Boduroglu, Aysecan; Gutchess, Angela (June 2022, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology)

   We investigated how tightness-looseness, reflecting strictness of social norms, of state of residence in the USA predicts behaviors and attitudes related to COVID-19. Because individual-level tightness may better capture current attitudes during the pandemic, whereas state-level archival measures reflect historical factors, we assessed the extent to which tightness-looseness at both levels predicted adherence to public health guidelines and biases toward outgroups related to COVID-19. In Spring 2020, 544 mTurk participants, primarily from the 13 tightest and 13 loosest states, completed survey questions about health behaviors in response to COVID-19, endorsement of future policy changes, feeling of responsibility for lives, and attitudes toward groups marginalized during the pandemic (i.e., Asians, older adults). State-level results indicated some associations with attitudes toward Asians and older adults, but effects were not robust. Results based on individuals’ ratings of the tightness of their state indicated that higher levels of perceived tightness were associated with higher levels of protective self-reported public health behaviors (e.g., mask wearing, handwashing) during COVID-19, more endorsement of future policy changes to contain the pandemic, higher reported feelings of responsibility for one’s life, and stronger negative attitudes toward Asians. The relations between tightness and health outcomes persisted after controlling for political attitudes and demographics. Thus, individual, more than state, tightness-looseness accounted for some degree of public health behaviors (unique contribution of individual tightness: R 2  = .034) and attitudes toward marginalized groups ( R 2  = .020) early during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications of these findings for interventions to support behavior change or combat anti-Asian bias are discussed. 

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2. Psychological predictors of prevention behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

   Broomell, S. B. (October 2020, Behavioral science policy)

   null (Ed.)

   Widespread public adoption of behaviors that can prevent the spread of COVID-19 is key to controlling the infection rate. In a nationally representative survey administered April 24 to May 11, 2020, we identified psychological predictors of three preventive behaviors: social distancing, practicing respiratory hygiene (such as hand washing and coughing into a tissue), and mask wearing. All three behaviors were strongly predicted by their perceived effectiveness and were moderately predicted by anxiety about COVID-19 and by perceived behavioral norms. The perceived effectiveness of social distancing also predicted the self-reported number of exposures to people outside the household, and this relationship was mediated by social distancing behavior. In other words, greater perceived effectiveness of social distancing predicted greater compliance with distancing recommendations, which in turn was linked to lower exposure. On the basis of our findings, we suggest some actions that might promote long-term adherence to preventive behaviors even if rapidly shifting beliefs about the risks posed by the virus diminish the public’s susceptibility to intervention. 

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3. Twitter social mobility data reveal demographic variations in social distancing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51555-0  

   Xu, Paiheng; Broniatowski, David A; Dredze, Mark (December 2024, Scientific Reports)

   The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of social distancing practices to stem the spread of the virus. However, compliance with public health guidelines was mixed. Understanding what factors are associated with differences in compliance can improve public health messaging since messages could be targeted and tailored to different population segments. We utilize Twitter data on social mobility during COVID-19 to reveal which populations practiced social distancing and what factors correlated with this practice. We analyze correlations between demographic and political affiliation with reductions in physical mobility measured by public geolocation tweets. We find significant differences in mobility reduction between these groups in the United States. We observe that males, Asian and Latinx individuals, older individuals, Democrats, and people from higher population density states exhibited larger reductions in movement. Furthermore, our study also unveils meaningful insights into the interactions between different groups. We hope these findings will provide evidence to support public health policy-making. 

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4. Observations and conversations: how communities learn about infection risk can impact the success of non-pharmaceutical interventions against epidemics

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12353-9  

   Silk, Matthew J.; Carrignon, Simon; Bentley, R. Alexander; Fefferman, Nina H. (December 2022, BMC Public Health)

   Abstract Background Individual behavioural decisions are responses to a person’s perceived social norms that could be shaped by both their physical and social environment. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, these environments correspond to epidemiological risk from contacts and the social construction of risk by communication within networks of friends. Understanding the circumstances under which the influence of these different social networks can promote the acceptance of non-pharmaceutical interventions and consequently the adoption of protective behaviours is critical for guiding useful, practical public health messaging. Methods We explore how information from both physical contact and social communication layers of a multiplex network can contribute to flattening the epidemic curve in a community. Connections in the physical contact layer represent opportunities for transmission, while connections in the communication layer represent social interactions through which individuals may gain information, e.g. messaging friends. Results We show that maintaining focus on awareness of risk among each individual’s physical contacts promotes the greatest reduction in disease spread, but only when an individual is aware of the symptoms of a non-trivial proportion of their physical contacts (~ ≥ 20%). Information from the social communication layer without was less useful when these connections matched less well with physical contacts and contributed little in combination with accurate information from physical contacts. Conclusions We conclude that maintaining social focus on local outbreak status will allow individuals to structure their perceived social norms appropriately and respond more rapidly when risk increases. Finding ways to relay accurate local information from trusted community leaders could improve mitigation even where more intrusive/costly strategies, such as contact-tracing, are not possible. 

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5. Religion, Social Connectedness, and Xenophobic Responses to Ebola

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.678141  

   Chuang, Roxie; Eom, Kimin; Kim, Heejung S. (July 2021, Frontiers in Psychology)

   null (Ed.)

   This study examined the role of religion in xenophobic responses to the threat of Ebola. Religious communities often offer members strong social ties and social support, which may help members cope with psychological and physical threat, including global threats like Ebola. Our analysis of a nationally representative sample in the U.S. ( N = 1,000) found that overall, the more vulnerable to Ebola people felt, the more they exhibited xenophobic responses, but this relationship was moderated by importance of religion. Those who perceived religion as more important in their lives exhibited weaker xenophobic reactions than those who perceived religion as less important. Furthermore, social connectedness measured by collectivism explained the moderating role of religion, suggesting that higher collectivism associated with religion served as a psychological buffer. Religious people showed attenuated threat responses because they had a stronger social system that may offer resources for its members to cope with psychological and physical threats. The current research highlights that different cultural groups react to increased threats in divergent ways. 

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