Government Trust and Motivational Factors on Health Protective Behaviors to Prevent COVID-19 Among Young Adults

Nicolás Bronfman; Paula Repetto; Pamela Cisternas; Javiera Castañeda; Paola Cordón

doi:10.3389/ijph.2022.1604290

Government Trust and Motivational Factors on Health Protective Behaviors to Prevent COVID-19 Among Young Adults

Nicolás Bronfman, Paula Repetto, Pamela Cisternas, Javiera Castañeda, Paola Cordón

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of government trust on young adults’ adoption of health behaviors to prevent infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Method: We tested the hypothesis that government trust would directly and indirectly (through worry/fear and subjective norms) influence the adoption of health-protective behaviors. A sample of 1,136 university students completed a web survey after Chile’s first wave of infections. Results: The results indicate that low government trust only indirectly (through subjective norms) influenced health-protective behaviors. Conversely, worry/fear was the primary motivating factor for adopting health-protective behaviors in young adults, followed by subjective norms. Conclusion: In scenarios where people perceive low government trust, emotions and social norms are the motivational factors with the most significant predictive power on the adoption of health-protective behaviors.

Original language	English
Article number	1604290
Journal	International Journal of Public Health
Volume	67
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604290
Publication status	Published - 13 Apr 2022

Keywords

COVID–19
government trust
protective behaviors
subjective norms
worry

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.3389/ijph.2022.1604290

Cite this

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title = "Government Trust and Motivational Factors on Health Protective Behaviors to Prevent COVID-19 Among Young Adults",

abstract = "Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of government trust on young adults{\textquoteright} adoption of health behaviors to prevent infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Method: We tested the hypothesis that government trust would directly and indirectly (through worry/fear and subjective norms) influence the adoption of health-protective behaviors. A sample of 1,136 university students completed a web survey after Chile{\textquoteright}s first wave of infections. Results: The results indicate that low government trust only indirectly (through subjective norms) influenced health-protective behaviors. Conversely, worry/fear was the primary motivating factor for adopting health-protective behaviors in young adults, followed by subjective norms. Conclusion: In scenarios where people perceive low government trust, emotions and social norms are the motivational factors with the most significant predictive power on the adoption of health-protective behaviors.",

keywords = "COVID–19, government trust, protective behaviors, subjective norms, worry",

author = "Nicol{\'a}s Bronfman and Paula Repetto and Pamela Cisternas and Javiera Casta{\~n}eda and Paola Cord{\'o}n",

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doi = "10.3389/ijph.2022.1604290",

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AU - Bronfman, Nicolás

AU - Repetto, Paula

AU - Cisternas, Pamela

AU - Castañeda, Javiera

AU - Cordón, Paola

PY - 2022/4/13

Y1 - 2022/4/13

N2 - Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of government trust on young adults’ adoption of health behaviors to prevent infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Method: We tested the hypothesis that government trust would directly and indirectly (through worry/fear and subjective norms) influence the adoption of health-protective behaviors. A sample of 1,136 university students completed a web survey after Chile’s first wave of infections. Results: The results indicate that low government trust only indirectly (through subjective norms) influenced health-protective behaviors. Conversely, worry/fear was the primary motivating factor for adopting health-protective behaviors in young adults, followed by subjective norms. Conclusion: In scenarios where people perceive low government trust, emotions and social norms are the motivational factors with the most significant predictive power on the adoption of health-protective behaviors.

AB - Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of government trust on young adults’ adoption of health behaviors to prevent infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Method: We tested the hypothesis that government trust would directly and indirectly (through worry/fear and subjective norms) influence the adoption of health-protective behaviors. A sample of 1,136 university students completed a web survey after Chile’s first wave of infections. Results: The results indicate that low government trust only indirectly (through subjective norms) influenced health-protective behaviors. Conversely, worry/fear was the primary motivating factor for adopting health-protective behaviors in young adults, followed by subjective norms. Conclusion: In scenarios where people perceive low government trust, emotions and social norms are the motivational factors with the most significant predictive power on the adoption of health-protective behaviors.

KW - COVID–19

KW - government trust

KW - protective behaviors

KW - subjective norms

KW - worry

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Government Trust and Motivational Factors on Health Protective Behaviors to Prevent COVID-19 Among Young Adults

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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