Peers for the fearless: Social norms facilitate preventive behaviour when individuals perceive low COVID-19 health risks.

ABSTRACT: A strategy frequently adopted to contain the COVID-19 pandemic involves three non-pharmaceutical interventions that depend on high levels of compliance in society: maintaining physical distance from others, minimizing social contacts, and wearing a face mask. These measures require substantial changes in established practices of social interaction, raising the question of which factors motivate individuals to comply with these preventive behaviours. Using Austrian panel survey data from April 2020 to April 2021, we show that perceived health risks, social norms, and trust in political institutions stimulate people to engage in preventive behaviour. A moderation analysis shows that the effectiveness of social norms in facilitating preventive behaviour increases when people's perceptions of

SUBMITTER: Kittel B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8659684 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature