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A worldwide assessment of changes in adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviours and hypothesized pandemic fatigue

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Petherick

    (University of Oxford)

  • Rafael Goldszmidt

    (Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV))

  • Eduardo B. Andrade

    (Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV))

  • Rodrigo Furst

    (Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV))

  • Thomas Hale

    (University of Oxford)

  • Annalena Pott

    (University of Oxford)

  • Andrew Wood

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, the possibility of ‘pandemic fatigue’ has raised worldwide concerns. Here, we examine whether there was a gradual reduction in adherence to protective behaviours against COVID-19 from March through December 2020, as hypothesized in expectations of fatigue. We considered self-report behaviours from representative samples of the populations of 14 countries (N = 238,797), as well as mobility and policy data for 124 countries. Our results show that changes in adherence were empirically meaningful and geographically widespread. While a low-cost and habituating behaviour (mask wearing) exhibited a linear rise in adherence, high-cost and sensitizing behaviours (physical distancing) declined, but this decline decelerated over time, with small rebounds seen in later months. Reductions in adherence to physical distancing showed little difference across societal groups, but were less intense in countries with high interpersonal trust. Alternative underlying mechanisms and policy implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Petherick & Rafael Goldszmidt & Eduardo B. Andrade & Rodrigo Furst & Thomas Hale & Annalena Pott & Andrew Wood, 2021. "A worldwide assessment of changes in adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviours and hypothesized pandemic fatigue," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(9), pages 1145-1160, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:5:y:2021:i:9:d:10.1038_s41562-021-01181-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01181-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Celidoni, Martina & Costa-Font, Joan & Salmasi, Luca, 2022. "Too Healthy to Fall Sick? Longevity Expectations and Protective Health Behaviours during the First Wave of COVID-19," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 733-745.
    2. Fang, Ximeng & Freyer, Timo & Ho, Chui-Yee & Chen, Zihua & Goette, Lorenz, 2022. "Prosociality predicts individual behavior and collective outcomes in the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    3. Szczuka, Zofia & Siwa, Maria & Abraham, Charles & Baban, Adriana & Brooks, Sydney & Cipolletta, Sabrina & Danso, Ebrima & Dombrowski, Stephan U. & Gan, Yiqun & Gaspar, Tania & Gaspar de Matos, Margari, 2023. "Handwashing adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study based on protection motivation theory," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    4. Justin Sulik & Ophelia Deroy & Guillaume Dezecache & Martha Newson & Yi Zhao & Marwa El Zein & Bahar Tunçgenç, 2021. "Facing the pandemic with trust in science," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Lau Lilleholt & Ingo Zettler & Cornelia Betsch & Robert Böhm, 2023. "Development and validation of the pandemic fatigue scale," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Celidoni, Martina & Costa-Font, Joan & Salmasi, Luca, 2022. "Too healthy to fall sick? Longevity expectations and protective health behaviours during the first wave of COVID-19," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115979, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Contreras, Sebastian & Oróstica, Karen Y. & Daza-Sanchez, Anamaria & Wagner, Joel & Dönges, Philipp & Medina-Ortiz, David & Jara, Matias & Verdugo, Ricardo & Conca, Carlos & Priesemann, Viola & Oliver, 2023. "Model-based assessment of sampling protocols for infectious disease genomic surveillance," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Martijn J. Burger & Ruut Veenhoven, 2023. "Editorial: Special Issue on Subjective Well-being and Mental Health in the Early Days of COVID-19," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 1-8, February.
    9. Yong Ge & Wen-Bin Zhang & Xilin Wu & Corrine W. Ruktanonchai & Haiyan Liu & Jianghao Wang & Yongze Song & Mengxiao Liu & Wei Yan & Juan Yang & Eimear Cleary & Sarchil H. Qader & Fatumah Atuhaire & Nic, 2022. "Untangling the changing impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccination on European COVID-19 trajectories," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.

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