Prevention is political: political party affiliation predicts perceived risk and prevention behaviors for COVID-19.
BMC Public Health
; 22(1): 298, 2022 02 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1686010
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Many US politicians have provided mixed messages about the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and whether and to what extent prevention practices should be put in place to prevent transmission. This politicization of the virus and pandemic may affect individuals' risk perceptions and willingness to take precautions. We examined how political party affiliation relates to risk perception for one's own and other people's likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 infection/COVID-19 illness.METHODS:
We surveyed members of a nationally-representative, probability-sampling based survey panel (N = 410) to examine their risk perceptions, precautionary behaviors, and political party affiliation.RESULTS:
The more strongly one identified as a Republican, the less risk one perceived to oneself from SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and the less risk one perceived other people faced. Moreover, those identifying as more strongly Republican engaged in fewer preventive behaviors.CONCLUSIONS:
This differential response may affect virus transmission patterns and poses a considerable challenge for health communications efforts.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Public Health
Journal subject:
Public Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12889-022-12649-4
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