Social distancing in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States

In order to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, much of the US was placed under social distancing guidelines during March 2020. We characterized risk perceptions and adherence to social distancing recommendations in March 2020 among US adults aged 18+ in an online survey with age and gender quotas to m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2020-09, Vol.15 (9), p.e0239025-e0239025
Main Authors:	Masters, Nina B, Shih, Shu-Fang, Bukoff, Allen, Akel, Kaitlyn B, Kobayashi, Lindsay C, Miller, Alison L, Harapan, Harapan, Lu, Yihan, Wagner, Abram L
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adolescent Adult Age Attitude Baby boomers Behavior Computer and Information Sciences Control Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control Coronavirus Infections - psychology Coronaviruses COVID-19 COVID-19 - epidemiology COVID-19 - prevention & control COVID-19 - psychology Demographic aspects Disease control Disease transmission Epidemics Epidemiology Ethnicity Female Gender Gender identity Generations Health behavior Health risks Hispanic people Hispanics Humans Male Medical research Medicine and Health Sciences Middle Aged Pandemics Pandemics - prevention & control People and places Perceptions Physical Distancing Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control Pneumonia, Viral - psychology Public health Quarantine - methods Quarantine - psychology Questionnaires Quotas Regression analysis Research and Analysis Methods Risk groups Risk perception Risk-Taking Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Social distancing Social distancing (Public health) Surveys United States Variables Viral diseases
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Summary:	In order to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, much of the US was placed under social distancing guidelines during March 2020. We characterized risk perceptions and adherence to social distancing recommendations in March 2020 among US adults aged 18+ in an online survey with age and gender quotas to match the general US population (N = 713). We used multivariable logistic and linear regression to estimate associations between age (by generational cohort) and these outcomes. The median perceived risk of infection with COVID-19 within the next month was 32%, and 65% of individuals were practicing more social distancing than before the outbreak. Baby Boomers had lower perceived risk than Millennials (-10.6%, 95% CI: -16.2%, -5.0%), yet were more frequently social distancing (OR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.56). Public health outreach should focus on raising compliance with social distancing recommendations, especially among high risk groups. Efforts to address risk perceptions alone may be inadequate.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203