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National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

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  • Jay J. Bavel

    (New York University)

  • Aleksandra Cichocka

    (University of Kent)

  • Valerio Capraro

    (Middlesex University London)

  • Hallgeir Sjåstad

    (Norwegian School of Economics)

  • John B. Nezlek

    (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
    College of William and Mary)

  • Tomislav Pavlović

    (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar)

  • Mark Alfano

    (Macquarie University)

  • Michele J. Gelfand

    (Stanford University)

  • Flavio Azevedo

    (Friedrich-Schiller University Jena)

  • Michèle D. Birtel

    (University of Greenwich)

  • Aleksandra Cislak

    (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities)

  • Patricia L. Lockwood

    (University of Oxford
    University of Birmingham)

  • Robert Malcolm Ross

    (Macquarie University)

  • Koen Abts

    (KU Leuven)

  • Elena Agadullina

    (National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE))

  • John Jamir Benzon Aruta

    (De La Salle University)

  • Sahba Nomvula Besharati

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Alexander Bor

    (Aarhus University)

  • Becky L. Choma

    (X University)

  • Charles David Crabtree

    (Dartmouth College)

  • William A. Cunningham

    (University of Toronto)

  • Koustav De

    (University of Kentucky)

  • Waqas Ejaz

    (National University of Science and Technology (NUST))

  • Christian T. Elbaek

    (Aarhus University)

  • Andrej Findor

    (Comenius University)

  • Daniel Flichtentrei

    (IntraMed)

  • Renata Franc

    (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar)

  • Biljana Gjoneska

    (Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts)

  • June Gruber

    (University of Colorado Boulder)

  • Estrella Gualda

    (University of Huelva
    University of Huelva)

  • Yusaku Horiuchi

    (Dartmouth College)

  • Toan Luu Duc Huynh

    (WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management)

  • Agustin Ibanez

    (Adolfo Ibáñez University
    University of San Andrés)

  • Mostak Ahamed Imran

    (University of Dhaka)

  • Jacob Israelashvili

    (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Katarzyna Jasko

    (Jagiellonian University)

  • Jaroslaw Kantorowicz

    (Leiden University)

  • Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • André Krouwel

    (Vrije University (VU) Amsterdam)

  • Michael Laakasuo

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Claus Lamm

    (University of Vienna)

  • Caroline Leygue

    (National Autonomous University of Mexico)

  • Ming-Jen Lin

    (National Taiwan University
    National Taiwan University)

  • Mohammad Sabbir Mansoor

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Antoine Marie

    (Aarhus University)

  • Lewend Mayiwar

    (BI Norwegian Business School)

  • Honorata Mazepus

    (Leiden University
    Leiden University)

  • Cillian McHugh

    (University of Limerick)

  • John Paul Minda

    (The University of Western Ontario)

  • Panagiotis Mitkidis

    (Aarhus University
    Duke University)

  • Andreas Olsson

    (Karolinska Institute)

  • Tobias Otterbring

    (University of Agder
    Institute of Retail Economics)

  • Dominic J. Packer

    (Lehigh University)

  • Anat Perry

    (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Michael Bang Petersen

    (Aarhus University)

  • Arathy Puthillam

    (Monk Prayogshala)

  • Julián C. Riaño-Moreno

    (Cooperative University of Colombia
    El Bosque University)

  • Tobias Rothmund

    (Friedrich-Schiller University Jena)

  • Hernando Santamaría-García

    (Pontifical Javeriana University)

  • Petra C. Schmid

    (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zürich)

  • Drozdstoy Stoyanov

    (Research Institute, Medical University of Plovdiv)

  • Shruti Tewari

    (Indian Institute of Management)

  • Bojan Todosijević

    (Institute of Social Sciences)

  • Manos Tsakiris

    (University of London
    University of London
    University of Luxembourg)

  • Hans H. Tung

    (National Taiwan University
    National Taiwan University)

  • Radu G. Umbreș

    (National School for Political Studies and Public Administration)

  • Edmunds Vanags

    (University of Latvia)

  • Madalina Vlasceanu

    (Princeton University)

  • Andrew Vonasch

    (University of Canterbury)

  • Meltem Yucel

    (Duke University
    University of Virginia)

  • Yucheng Zhang

    (Hebei University of Technology)

  • Mohcine Abad

    (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)

  • Eli Adler

    (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Narin Akrawi

    (Institute for Research and Development-Kurdistan)

  • Hamza Alaoui Mdarhri

    (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)

  • Hanane Amara

    (Impact For Development)

  • David M. Amodio

    (New York University
    University of Amsterdam)

  • Benedict G. Antazo

    (Jose Rizal University)

  • Matthew Apps

    (University of Birmingham)

  • F. Ceren Ay

    (Norwegian School of Economics
    Telenor Research)

  • Mouhamadou Hady Ba

    (University Cheikh Anta Diop)

  • Sergio Barbosa

    (University of Rosario
    University of Rosario)

  • Brock Bastian

    (University of Melbourne)

  • Anton Berg

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Maria P. Bernal-Zárate

    (Cooperative University of Colombia)

  • Michael Bernstein

    (Penn State Abington)

  • Michał Białek

    (University of Wrocław)

  • Ennio Bilancini

    (IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca)

  • Natalia Bogatyreva

    (National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE))

  • Leonardo Boncinelli

    (University of Florence)

  • Jonathan E. Booth

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Sylvie Borau

    (University of Toulouse)

  • Ondrej Buchel

    (Social Policy Institute of the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Affairs of the Slovak Republic
    Tilburg University)

  • C. Daryl Cameron

    (Penn State University, University Park
    Penn State University, University Park)

  • Chrissie F. Carvalho

    (Federal University of Santa Catarina)

  • Tatiana Celadin

    (University of Bologna)

  • Chiara Cerami

    (Institute for Advanced Study of Pavia
    Neurological Institute Foundation Casimiro Mondino)

  • Hom Nath Chalise

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Xiaojun Cheng

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Luca Cian

    (University of Virginia)

  • Kate Cockcroft

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Jane Conway

    (Université Toulouse 1 Capitole)

  • Mateo Andres Córdoba-Delgado

    (Pontifical Javeriana University)

  • Chiara Crespi

    (Neurological Institute Foundation Casimiro Mondino
    University of Pavia)

  • Marie Crouzevialle

    (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zürich)

  • Jo Cutler

    (University of Oxford
    University of Birmingham)

  • Marzena Cypryańska

    (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities)

  • Justyna Dabrowska

    (Cracow University of Economics)

  • Michael A. Daniels

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Victoria H. Davis

    (University of Toronto)

  • Pamala N. Dayley

    (University of California - Los Angeles)

  • Sylvain Delouvee

    (Rennes 2 University)

  • Ognjan Denkovski

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Guillaume Dezecache

    (Clermont Auvergne University, CNRS)

  • Nathan A. Dhaliwal

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Alelie B. Diato

    (Cavite State University-General Trias City Campus)

  • Roberto Paolo

    (IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca)

  • Marianna Drosinou

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Uwe Dulleck

    (Queensland University of Technology
    Queensland University of Technology
    Australian National University
    CESifo, University of Munich)

  • Jānis Ekmanis

    (University of Latvia)

  • Arhan S. Ertan

    (Boğaziçi University)

  • Tom W. Etienne

    (Kieskompas - Election Compass)

  • Hapsa Hossain Farhana

    (University of Dhaka)

  • Fahima Farkhari

    (Friedrich-Schiller University Jena)

  • Harry Farmer

    (University of Greenwich)

  • Ali Fenwick

    (Hult International Business School Dubai)

  • Kristijan Fidanovski

    (University of Oxford)

  • Terry Flew

    (University of Sydney)

  • Shona Fraser

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Raymond Boadi Frempong

    (University of Bayreuth)

  • Jonathan A. Fugelsang

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Jessica Gale

    (University of Canterbury)

  • E. Begoña Garcia-Navarro

    (University of Huelva)

  • Prasad Garladinne

    (Indian Institute of Management)

  • Oussama Ghajjou

    (University of Bradford)

  • Theofilos Gkinopoulos

    (Philosophy and Social Studies Department)

  • Kurt Gray

    (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

  • Siobhán M. Griffin

    (University of Limerick)

  • Bjarki Gronfeldt

    (University of Kent)

  • Mert Gümren

    (Koc University)

  • Ranju Lama Gurung

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Eran Halperin

    (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Elizabeth Harris

    (New York University)

  • Volo Herzon

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Matej Hruška

    (Comenius University)

  • Guanxiong Huang

    (City University of Hong Kong)

  • Matthias F. C. Hudecek

    (University of Regensburg
    FOM University of Applied Sciences)

  • Ozan Isler

    (Queensland University of Technology
    Queensland University of Technology)

  • Simon Jangard

    (Karolinska Institute)

  • Frederik J. Jørgensen

    (Aarhus University)

  • Frank Kachanoff

    (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

  • John Kahn

    (Dartmouth College)

  • Apsara Katuwal Dangol

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Oleksandra Keudel

    (Free University of Berlin)

  • Lina Koppel

    (Linköping University)

  • Mika Koverola

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Emily Kubin

    (University of Koblenz-Landau)

  • Anton Kunnari

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Yordan Kutiyski

    (Kieskompas - Election Compass)

  • Oscar Laguna

    (Kieskompas - Election Compass)

  • Josh Leota

    (University of Alberta)

  • Eva Lermer

    (FOM University of Applied Sciences
    Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
    Ansbach University for Applied Sciences)

  • Jonathan Levy

    (Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC)
    Aalto University)

  • Neil Levy

    (Macquarie University)

  • Chunyun Li

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Elizabeth U. Long

    (University of Toronto)

  • Chiara Longoni

    (Boston University)

  • Marina Maglić

    (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar)

  • Darragh McCashin

    (Dublin City University)

  • Alexander L. Metcalf

    (University of Montana)

  • Igor Mikloušić

    (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar)

  • Soulaimane El Mimouni

    (Impact For Development)

  • Asako Miura

    (Osaka University)

  • Juliana Molina-Paredes

    (Pontifical Javeriana University)

  • César Monroy-Fonseca

    (SEELE Neuroscience)

  • Elena Morales-Marente

    (University of Huelva)

  • David Moreau

    (University of Auckland)

  • Rafał Muda

    (Maria Curie-Skłodowska University)

  • Annalisa Myer

    (University of Virginia
    The City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center)

  • Kyle Nash

    (University of Alberta)

  • Tarik Nesh-Nash

    (Impact For Development)

  • Jonas P. Nitschke

    (University of Vienna)

  • Matthew S. Nurse

    (Australian National University)

  • Yohsuke Ohtsubo

    (University of Tokyo)

  • Victoria Oldemburgo de Mello

    (University of Toronto)

  • Cathal O’Madagain

    (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)

  • Michal Onderco

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • M. Soledad Palacios-Galvez

    (University of Huelva)

  • Jussi Palomäki

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Yafeng Pan

    (Karolinska Institute)

  • Zsófia Papp

    (Hungarian Academy of Sciences Center of Excellence)

  • Philip Pärnamets

    (Karolinska Institute)

  • Mariola Paruzel-Czachura

    (University of Silesia)

  • Zoran Pavlović

    (University of Belgrade)

  • César Payán-Gómez

    (Universidad del Rosario)

  • Silva Perander

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Michael Mark Pitman

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Rajib Prasad

    (Vidyasagar College For Women)

  • Joanna Pyrkosz-Pacyna

    (AGH University of Science and Technology)

  • Steve Rathje

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Ali Raza

    (University of Colorado Boulder
    University of Colorado Boulder)

  • Gabriel G. Rêgo

    (Mackenzie Presbyterian University)

  • Kasey Rhee

    (Stanford University)

  • Claire E. Robertson

    (New York University)

  • Iván Rodríguez-Pascual

    (University of Huelva)

  • Teemu Saikkonen

    (University of Turku)

  • Octavio Salvador-Ginez

    (National Autonomous University of Mexico)

  • Waldir M. Sampaio

    (Mackenzie Presbyterian University)

  • Gaia C. Santi

    (Institute for Advanced Study of Pavia)

  • Natalia Santiago-Tovar

    (Cooperative University of Colombia)

  • David Savage

    (University of Newcastle)

  • Julian A. Scheffer

    (Penn State University, University Park)

  • Philipp Schönegger

    (University of St Andrews
    University of St Andrews)

  • David T. Schultner

    (Jose Rizal University)

  • Enid M. Schutte

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Andy Scott

    (University of Alberta)

  • Madhavi Sharma

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Pujan Sharma

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Ahmed Skali

    (University of Groningen)

  • David Stadelmann

    (University of Bayreuth)

  • Clara Alexandra Stafford

    (The University of Western Ontario
    University of Western Ontario
    University of Western Ontario)

  • Dragan Stanojević

    (University of Belgrade)

  • Anna Stefaniak

    (Carleton University)

  • Anni Sternisko

    (New York University)

  • Agustin Stoica

    (National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA))

  • Kristina K. Stoyanova

    (Division of Translational Neuroscience)

  • Brent Strickland

    (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
    PSL Research University)

  • Jukka Sundvall

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Jeffrey P. Thomas

    (University of Melbourne)

  • Gustav Tinghög

    (Linköping University)

  • Benno Torgler

    (Queensland University of Technology
    Queensland University of Technology
    Management and the Arts)

  • Iris J. Traast

    (Jose Rizal University)

  • Raffaele Tucciarelli

    (University of London
    University College London)

  • Michael Tyrala

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

  • Nick D. Ungson

    (Susquehanna University)

  • Mete S. Uysal

    (Dokuz Eylül University)

  • Paul A. M. Lange

    (VU Amsterdam)

  • Jan-Willem Prooijen

    (VU Amsterdam)

  • Dirk Rooy

    (Australian National University)

  • Daniel Västfjäll

    (Linköping University)

  • Peter Verkoeijen

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Joana B. Vieira

    (Karolinska Institute)

  • Christian Sikorski

    (University of Koblenz-Landau)

  • Alexander Cameron Walker

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Jennifer Watermeyer

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Erik Wetter

    (Stockholm School of Economics)

  • Ashley Whillans

    (Harvard University)

  • Robin Willardt

    (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zürich)

  • Michael J. A. Wohl

    (Carleton University)

  • Adrian Dominik Wójcik

    (Nicolaus Copernicus University)

  • Kaidi Wu

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • Yuki Yamada

    (Kyushu University)

  • Onurcan Yilmaz

    (Kadir Has University)

  • Kumar Yogeeswaran

    (University of Canterbury)

  • Carolin-Theresa Ziemer

    (Friedrich-Schiller University Jena)

  • Rolf A. Zwaan

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Paulo S. Boggio

    (Mackenzie Presbyterian University)

Abstract

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.

Suggested Citation

  • Jay J. Bavel & Aleksandra Cichocka & Valerio Capraro & Hallgeir Sjåstad & John B. Nezlek & Tomislav Pavlović & Mark Alfano & Michele J. Gelfand & Flavio Azevedo & Michèle D. Birtel & Aleksandra Cislak, 2022. "National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27668-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Barceló, Joan & Sheen, Greg Chih-Hsin & Tung, Hans H. & Wu, Wen-Chin, 2022. "Vaccine nationalism among the public: A cross-country experimental evidence of own-country bias towards COVID-19 vaccination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    2. Elena Fumagalli & Candelaria Belén Krick & Marina Belén Dolmatzian & Julieta Edith Del Negro & Joaquin Navajas, 2023. "Partisanship predicts COVID-19 vaccine brand preference: the case of Argentina," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Peter Adu & Tomas Jurcik & Emmanuel Demah & Patrick T Korang & Dmitry Grigoryev, 2024. "Mental health literacy for social phobia in Ghana: Investigation of gender stereotypes and previous experience for recognition rates and prejudice," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 70(2), pages 271-281, March.
    4. Christian T. Elbæk & Panagiotis Mitkidis & Lene Aarøe & Tobias Otterbring, 2023. "Subjective socioeconomic status and income inequality are associated with self-reported morality across 67 countries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Akfırat, Serap & Bayrak, Fatih & Üzümçeker, Emir & Ergiyen, Tolga & Yurtbakan, Taylan & Uysal, Mete Sefa, 2023. "The roles of social norms and leadership in health communication in the context of COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    6. François, Abel & Gergaud, Olivier & Noury, Abdul, 2023. "Can health passport overcome political hurdles to COVID-19 vaccination?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    7. Borau, Sylvie & Couprie, Hélène & Hopfensitz, Astrid, 2022. "The prosociality of married people: Evidence from a large multinational sample," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Yong Ge & Xilin Wu & Wenbin Zhang & Xiaoli Wang & Die Zhang & Jianghao Wang & Haiyan Liu & Zhoupeng Ren & Nick W. Ruktanonchai & Corrine W. Ruktanonchai & Eimear Cleary & Yongcheng Yao & Amy Wesolowsk, 2023. "Effects of public-health measures for zeroing out different SARS-CoV-2 variants," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Xiaoyan Mu & Xiaohu Zhang & Anthony Gar-On Yeh & Yang Yu & Jiejing Wang, 2023. "Structural Changes in Human Mobility Under the Zero-COVID Strategy in China," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(9), pages 2527-2542, November.
    10. Tung, Hans H. & Chang, Teng-Jen & Lin, Ming-Jen, 2022. "Political ideology predicts preventative behaviors and infections amid COVID-19 in democracies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    11. Jaroslaw Kantorowicz, 2023. "Testing public reaction to constitutional fiscal rules violations," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 483-509, December.
    12. repec:cup:judgdm:v:17:y:2022:i:4:p:720-744 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. John (Jianqiu) Bai & Shuili Du & Wang Jin & Chi Wan, 2023. "Is social capital associated with individual social responsibility? The case of social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(4), pages 1861-1896, April.
    14. Xiping Wang & Surinderpal Kaur & Noor Aqsa Nabila Mat Isa & Sheena Kaur, 2024. "Image restoration strategies in pandemic crisis communication: a comparative analysis of Chinese and American COVID-19 political speeches," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    15. repec:jdm:journl:v:17:y:2022:i:4:p:720-744 is not listed on IDEAS

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