Adherence to wearing facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic

AbstractThis study reports a comprehensive empirical investigation of the nature and correlates of anti-mask attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accumulating evidence underscores the importance of facemasks, as worn by the general public, in limiting the spread of infection. Accordingly, mask wearing has become increasingly mandatory in public places such as stores and on public transit. Although the public has been generally adherent to mask wearing, a small but vocal group of individuals refuse to wear masks. Anti-mask protest rallies have occurred in many places throughout the world, sometimes erupting violently. Few empirical studies have examined the relationship between anti-mask attitudes and mask non-adherence and little is known about how such attitudes relate to one another or other factors (e.g., non-adherence to social distancing, anti-vaccination attitudes). To investigate these issues, the present study surveyed 2,078 adults from the US and Canada. Consistent with other surveys, we found that most (84%) people wore masks because of COVID-19. The 16% who did not wear masks scored higher on most measures of negative attitudes towards masks. Network analyses indicated that negative attitudes about masks formed an intercorrelated network, with the central nodes in the network being (a) beliefs that masks are ineffective in preventing COVID-19, and (b) psychological reactance (PR; i.e., an aversion to being forced to wear masks). These central nodes served as links, connecting the network of anti-masks attitudes to negative attitudes toward SARSCoV2 vaccination, beliefs that the threat of COVID-19 has been exaggerated, disregard for social distancing, and political conservatism. Findings regarding PR are important because, theoretically, PR is likely to strengthen other anti-masks attitudes (e.g., beliefs that masks are ineffective) because people with strong PR react with anger and counter-arguments when their beliefs are challenged, thereby leading to a strengthening of their anti-mask beliefs. Implications for improving mask adherence are discussed.

摘要 本研究针对新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行期间的反口罩态度本质及其相关因素开展了全面的实证考察。越来越多的研究证据表明，公众佩戴的口罩在限制病毒传播方面发挥着重要作用。据此，商场、公共交通等公共场所对口罩佩戴的强制要求日益增多。尽管公众整体上普遍遵守口罩佩戴规定，但仍有少数但发声活跃的群体拒绝佩戴口罩。全球多地均出现反口罩抗议集会，有时甚至演变为暴力冲突。目前鲜有实证研究探讨反口罩态度与口罩佩戴不依从之间的关联，学界对这类态度之间的内在联系，以及其与其他因素（如社交距离（social distancing）依从性不佳、反疫苗接种态度）的关联仍知之甚少。为探究上述问题，本研究调研了来自美国和加拿大的2078名成年人。与其他调研结果一致，我们发现多数（84%）民众因新冠疫情佩戴口罩；剩余16%未佩戴口罩的人群，在多数反口罩态度测评中得分更高。网络分析结果显示，反口罩认知构成了一个相互关联的网络，其中核心节点包括：（a）"口罩无法有效预防COVID-19"的认知，以及（b）心理逆反（psychological reactance, PR）——即对被迫佩戴口罩的抵触情绪。这些核心节点作为纽带，将反口罩态度网络与以下负面态度和认知相连：针对严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型（SARSCoV2）疫苗接种的负面态度、"新冠疫情威胁被夸大"的认知、无视社交距离的行为，以及政治保守主义。关于心理逆反的研究结果具有重要意义：从理论层面而言，心理逆反可能会强化其他反口罩态度（如"口罩无效"的认知），因为当自身信念受到质疑时，具有强烈逆反心理的个体往往会产生愤怒情绪并提出反驳论据，进而强化其反口罩认知。本文最后讨论了提升口罩佩戴依从性的实践启示。