TY - JOUR
T1 - The Interplay Between Strictness of Policies and Individuals' Self-Regulatory Efforts
T2 - Associations with Handwashing During the COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Luszczynska, Aleksandra
AU - Szczuka, Zofia
AU - Abraham, Charles
AU - Baban, Adriana
AU - Brooks, Sydney
AU - Cipolletta, Sabrina
AU - Danso, Ebrima
AU - Dombrowski, Stephan U.
AU - Gan, Yiqun
AU - Gaspar, Tania
AU - De Matos, Margarida Gaspar
AU - Griva, Konstadina
AU - Jongenelis, Michelle I.
AU - Keller, Jan
AU - Knoll, Nina
AU - Ma, Jinjin
AU - Miah, Mohammad Adbdul Awal
AU - Morgan, Karen
AU - Peraud, William
AU - Quintard, Bruno
AU - Shah, Vishna
AU - Schenkel, Konstantin
AU - Scholz, Urte
AU - Schwarzer, Ralf
AU - Siwa, Maria
AU - Taut, Diana
AU - Tomaino, Silvia C.M.
AU - Vilchinsky, Noa
AU - Wolf, Hodaya
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
PY - 2022/4/2
Y1 - 2022/4/2
N2 - Background: Patterns of protective health behaviors, such as handwashing and sanitizing during the COVID-19 pandemic, may be predicted by macro-level variables, such as regulations specified by public health policies. Health behavior patterns may also be predicted by micro-level variables, such as self-regulatory cognitions specified by health behavior models, including the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). Purpose: This study explored whether strictness of containment and health policies was related to handwashing adherence and whether such associations were mediated by HAPA-specified self-regulatory cognitions. Methods: The study (NCT04367337) was conducted among 1,256 adults from Australia, Canada, China, France, Gambia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, and Switzerland. Self-report data on cross-situational handwashing adherence were collected using an online survey at two time points, 4 weeks apart. Values of the index of strictness of containment and health policies, obtained from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker database, were retrieved twice for each country (1 week prior to individual data collection). Results: Across countries and time, levels of handwashing adherence and strictness of policies were high. Path analysis indicated that stricter containment and health policies were indirectly related to lower handwashing adherence via lower self-efficacy and self-monitoring. Less strict policies were indirectly related to higher handwashing adherence via higher self-efficacy and self-monitoring. Conclusions: When policies are less strict, exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus might be higher, triggering more self-regulation and, consequently, more handwashing adherence. Very strict policies may need to be accompanied by enhanced information dissemination or psychosocial interventions to ensure appropriate levels of self-regulation.
AB - Background: Patterns of protective health behaviors, such as handwashing and sanitizing during the COVID-19 pandemic, may be predicted by macro-level variables, such as regulations specified by public health policies. Health behavior patterns may also be predicted by micro-level variables, such as self-regulatory cognitions specified by health behavior models, including the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). Purpose: This study explored whether strictness of containment and health policies was related to handwashing adherence and whether such associations were mediated by HAPA-specified self-regulatory cognitions. Methods: The study (NCT04367337) was conducted among 1,256 adults from Australia, Canada, China, France, Gambia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, and Switzerland. Self-report data on cross-situational handwashing adherence were collected using an online survey at two time points, 4 weeks apart. Values of the index of strictness of containment and health policies, obtained from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker database, were retrieved twice for each country (1 week prior to individual data collection). Results: Across countries and time, levels of handwashing adherence and strictness of policies were high. Path analysis indicated that stricter containment and health policies were indirectly related to lower handwashing adherence via lower self-efficacy and self-monitoring. Less strict policies were indirectly related to higher handwashing adherence via higher self-efficacy and self-monitoring. Conclusions: When policies are less strict, exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus might be higher, triggering more self-regulation and, consequently, more handwashing adherence. Very strict policies may need to be accompanied by enhanced information dissemination or psychosocial interventions to ensure appropriate levels of self-regulation.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Cross-country
KW - HAPA
KW - Pandemic
KW - Policies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127985908&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/abm/kaab102
DO - 10.1093/abm/kaab102
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C2 - 34871341
AN - SCOPUS:85127985908
SN - 0883-6612
VL - 56
SP - 368
EP - 380
JO - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 4
ER -