Adherence to social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy: The role of autonomous motivation and defiance.

ABSTRACT: To maintain social distancing in the long term, in the current COVID-19 scenario, people's motivation must be strong and of high quality. Many governments adopted measures enforcing social distancing. Enforcement, however, can produce feelings of defiance and backfiring effects. The present work aims at investigating the relationship between autonomous motivation and intentions to maintain social distancing, through adherence to recommendations and feelings of defiance. A sample of 502 Italian residents, from different parts of Italy, completed an online survey assessing their present behavior, levels of autonomous motivation and feelings of defiance, as well as intentions to observe social distancing in the short and long term. Results support the hypotheses that autonomous motivation is

SUBMITTER: Magrin ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9982415 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature