title: Protection motivation theory and social distancing behaviour in response to a simulated infectious disease epidemic.
abstract: Epidemics of respiratory infectious disease remain one of the most serious health risks facing the population. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. hand-washing or wearing face masks) can have a significant impact on the course of an infectious disease epidemic. The current study investigated whether protection motivation theory (PMT) is a useful framework for understanding social distancing behaviour (i.e. the tendency to reduce social contacts) in response to a simulated infectious disease epidemic. There were 230 participants (109 males, 121 females, mean age 32.4 years) from the general population who completed self-report measures assessing the components of PMT. In addition, participants completed a computer game which simulated an infectious disease epidemic in order to provide a measure of social distancing behaviour. The regression analyses revealed that none of the PMT variables were significant predictors of social distancing behaviour during the simulation task. However, fear (β = .218, p < .001), response efficacy (β = .175, p < .01) and self-efficacy (β = .251, p < .001) were all significant predictors of intention to engage in social distancing behaviour. Overall, the PMT variables (and demographic factors) explain 21.2% of the variance in intention. The findings demonstrated that PMT was a useful framework for understanding intention to engage in social distancing behaviour, but not actual behaviour during the simulated epidemic. These findings may reflect an intention-behaviour gap in relation to social distancing behaviour.
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Sciences, Applied Psychology Research Group , University of the West of Scotland , Paisley PA1 2BE , UK.
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kleczkowski
authors.forename: Savi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maharaj
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cairns
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D058872:Epidemics; D005260:Female; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D057566:Self Report; D012934:Social Isolation
keywords: infectious disease; protection motivation; social distancing