Brits were quick to take up protective behaviours in the early stages of the pandemic.
In a nationally representative sample, 1000 British adults were surveyed in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the adoption of recommended protective behaviours prior to the pandemic and more recently. There was a large increase in proactive behaviours between behaviours before and after the pandemic was declared, including etiquette around coughing and sneezing, handwashing, and avoiding contact with symptomatic people. For example, 66 per cent of participants reported avoiding touching their face with unwashed hands, compared to only 14 per cent avoiding this before the pandemic. Men were less likely than women to follow protective measures and were more likely to think that their own individual action would not make a difference in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Men also tended to have a lower level of belief in their own and British residents’ abilities to follow protective measures. People with prior higher frequency of social contacts were also found to engage in fewer protective measures during the pandemic than people with fewer social contacts. This research is part of a three-wave study of adoption of protective behaviours during the pandemic.
https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12235
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