Politicization of COVID-19 health-protective behaviors in the United States: Longitudinal and cross-national evidence

Abstract

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. conservative politicians and the media downplayed the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended health behaviors. Health behavior theories suggest perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow recommendations. Accordingly, we predicted that—as a result of politicization of the pandemic—politically conservative Americans would be less likely to enact recommended health-protective behaviors. In two longitudinal studies of U.S. residents, political conservatism was inversely associated with perceived health risk and adoption of health-protective behaviors over time. The effects of political orientation on health-protective behaviors were mediated by perceived risk of infection, perceived severity of infection, and perceived effectiveness of the health-protective behaviors. In a global cross-national analysis, effects were stronger in the U.S. (N = 10,923) than in an international sample (total N = 51,986), highlighting the increased and overt politicization of health behaviors in the U.S.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Stroebe, W vanDellen, MR Abakoumkin, G Lemay, EP Schiavone, WM Agostini, M Bélanger, JJ Gützkow, B Kreienkamp, J Reitsema, AM Abdul Khaiyom, JH Ahmedi, V Akkas, H Almenara, CA Atta, M Bagci, SC Basel, S Berisha Kida, E Bernardo, ABI Buttrick, NR Chobthamkit, P Choi, H-S Cristea, M Csaba, S Damnjanović, K Danyliuk, I Dash, A Di Santo, D Douglas, KM Enea, V Faller, DG Fitzsimons, G Gheorghiu, A Gómez, Á Hamaidia, A Han, Q Helmy, M Hudiyana, J Jeronimus, BF Jiang, D-Y Jovanović, V Kamenov, Ž Kende, A Keng, S-L Kieu, TTT Koc, Y Kovyazina, K Kozytska, I Krause, J Kruglanksi, AW Kurapov, A Kutlaca, M Lantos, NA Lemsmana, CBJ Louis, WR Lueders, A Malik, NI Martinez, A https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7318-1020 McCabe, KO Mehulić, J Milla, MN Mohammed, I Molinario, E Moyano, M Muhammad, H Mula, S Muluk, H Myroniuk, S Najafi, R Nisa, CF Nyúl, B O’Keefe, PA Olivas Osuna, JJ Osin, EN Park, J Pica, G Pierro, A Rees, J Resta, E Rullo, M Ryan, MK Samekin, A Santtila, P Sasin, E Schumpe, BM Selim, HA Stanton, MV Sultana, S Sutton, RM Tseliou, E Utsugi, A van Breen, JA Van Lissa, CJ Van Veen, K Vázquez, A Wollast, R Wai-Lan Yeung, V Zand, S Žeželj, IL Zheng, B Zick, A Zúñiga, C Leander, NP
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© 2021 Stroebe et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Dates:	Published: 20 October 2021 Published (online): 20 October 2021 Accepted: 15 August 2021
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Sheffield
Date Deposited:	25 Oct 2021 14:55
Last Modified:	25 Oct 2021 14:55
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1371/journal.pone.0256740
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:179594

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Politicization of COVID-19 health-protective behaviors in the United States: Longitudinal and cross-national evidence

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