Should we take care of each other? Enhancing COVID-19 protective behaviors, a study in Chile, Mexico, and Colombia
Should we take care of each other? Enhancing COVID-19 protective behaviors, a study in Chile, Mexico, and Colombia
Authors
Salazar Fernandez, Camila
Baeza Rivera, Maria Jose
Salinas Onate, Natalia
Manriquez Robles, Diego
Baeza Rivera, Maria Jose
Salinas Onate, Natalia
Manriquez Robles, Diego
Authors
Date
Datos de publicaciĆ³n:
JOURNAL OF PACIFIC RIM PSYCHOLOGY,Vol.17,,2023
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Abstract
The literature has suggested that social norms and perceptions of risk and severity are critical variables in predicting protective health behaviors. Using an integrative conceptual framework, this study evaluates educational level, socioeconomic status, injunctive pro-care norms, perception of risk, and severity of COVID-19 as predictors of hygiene behaviors, mask use, and physical distancing. Participants included 2,075 adults from Chile, Mexico, and Colombia, three countries with the worst pandemic management. A structural equation model including the hypothesized structure of relations among the study variables fitted the data well and was invariant among Chilean, Mexican, and Colombian data. As proposed, injunctive pro-care norms against COVID-19 predicted protective health behaviors directly and indirectly through the perception of the risk and severity of COVID-19, and educational level predicted pro-care norms against COVID-19. These findings are essential in light of the development of prevention campaigns and the promotion of COVID-19 care strategies.