Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Avenue, FL, 33314, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
University Office of Evaluation and Educational Effectiveness, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Apr 19;22(1):784. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13161-5.
Given prior research finding that young adults are less likely to engage in recommended public health behaviors (PHBs) than older adults, understanding who is and is not likely to engage in PHBs among young adults is crucial to mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping, this study examined how typologies of stress appraisal (SA) and problem-focused coping (PFC) among young adults were associated with compliance with public health recommendations during the pandemic.
An online sample of young adults in the United States, ages 18-35, was recruited during the early phase of the pandemic (April-May 2020). Participants reported their appraisals of how central, threatening, and uncontrollable the pandemic was, their tendencies to engage in instrumental, problem-focused coping strategies, and how frequently they engaged in three recommended PHBs (social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing).
Using latent class analysis, we identified three classes of individuals: Low-SA/Low-PFC, Low-SA/High-PFC, and High-SA/High-PFC. Demographics did not efficiently distinguish membership in the three classes. The former two classes reported less compliance with public health recommendations than did the latter class. Tests of measurement invariance for gender indicated trivial differences in the composition of class membership and relations to compliance.
This research uncovered three qualitatively distinct classes of people who differed in their appraisal of the pandemic and their tendency to engage in PFC. Individuals who view the pandemic as central and threatening and engage in problem-focused coping were more likely than their peers to comply with guidelines recommending social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. These results contribute to our understanding of why people do and do not comply with public health guidelines and highlight the importance of attending to psychological variables in public health research. Understanding what drives poor compliance with public health recommendations can contribute to efforts promoting better compliance, and ultimately better health outcomes.
鉴于先前的研究发现，年轻人比老年人更不可能参与推荐的公共卫生行为（PHB），了解年轻人中哪些人可能参与哪些人可能不参与 PHB 对于减轻 COVID-19 大流行的影响至关重要。本研究借鉴压力与应对的交互作用理论，考察了年轻人的压力评估（SA）和问题导向应对（PFC）类型如何与大流行期间遵守公共卫生建议相关。
在大流行早期（2020 年 4 月至 5 月），在美国招募了年龄在 18-35 岁之间的在线年轻成年人样本。参与者报告了他们对大流行的中心性、威胁性和不可控性的评估、他们采用工具性、问题导向应对策略的倾向以及他们参与三种推荐 PHB（社交距离、戴口罩和洗手）的频率。
使用潜在类别分析，我们确定了三类人：低 SA/低 PFC、低 SA/高 PFC 和高 SA/高 PFC。人口统计学数据不能有效地区分这三类人的成员身份。前两类人报告的公共卫生建议遵守情况不如后一类人。对性别进行测量不变性检验表明，类别的组成和与遵守的关系存在微不足道的差异。
本研究揭示了在对大流行的评估和采用问题导向应对的倾向方面存在差异的三类人。那些认为大流行是中心和威胁的人，以及采用问题导向应对的人，比他们的同龄人更有可能遵守建议社交距离、戴口罩和洗手的准则。这些结果有助于我们理解为什么人们遵守或不遵守公共卫生准则，并强调在公共卫生研究中关注心理变量的重要性。了解哪些因素导致人们不遵守公共卫生建议可以为促进更好的遵守和最终更好的健康结果做出贡献。
