Mapping the sociodemographic distribution and self-reported justifications for non-compliance with COVID-19 guidelines in the United Kingdom

Maria Bălăeț; Danielle L. Kurtin; Dragos C. Gruia; Annalaura Lerede; Darije Custovic; William Trender; Amy E. Jolly; Peter J. Hellyer; Adam Hampshire

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1183789

Mapping the sociodemographic distribution and self-reported justifications for non-compliance with COVID-19 guidelines in the United Kingdom

Maria Bălăeț^*, Danielle L. Kurtin, Dragos C. Gruia, Annalaura Lerede, Darije Custovic, William Trender, Amy E. Jolly, Peter J. Hellyer, Adam Hampshire

^*Corresponding author for this work

Neuroimaging

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

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Which population factors have predisposed people to disregard government safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic and what justifications do they give for this non-compliance? To address these questions, we analyse fixed-choice and free-text responses to survey questions about compliance and government handling of the pandemic, collected from tens of thousands of members of the UK public at three 6-monthly timepoints. We report that sceptical opinions about the government and mainstream-media narrative, especially as pertaining to justification for guidelines, significantly predict non-compliance. However, free text topic modelling shows that such opinions are diverse, spanning from scepticism about government competence and self-interest to full-blown conspiracy theories, and covary in prevalence with sociodemographic variables. These results indicate that attempts to counter non-compliance through argument should account for this diversity in peoples’ underlying opinions, and inform conversations aimed at bridging the gap between the general public and bodies of authority accordingly.

Original language	English
Article number	1183789
Journal	Frontiers in Psychology
Volume	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1183789
Publication status	Published - 2023

Keywords

behaviour
compliance
COVID-19
natural language processing
topic modelling

UN SDGs

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

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10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1183789

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title = "Mapping the sociodemographic distribution and self-reported justifications for non-compliance with COVID-19 guidelines in the United Kingdom",

abstract = "Which population factors have predisposed people to disregard government safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic and what justifications do they give for this non-compliance? To address these questions, we analyse fixed-choice and free-text responses to survey questions about compliance and government handling of the pandemic, collected from tens of thousands of members of the UK public at three 6-monthly timepoints. We report that sceptical opinions about the government and mainstream-media narrative, especially as pertaining to justification for guidelines, significantly predict non-compliance. However, free text topic modelling shows that such opinions are diverse, spanning from scepticism about government competence and self-interest to full-blown conspiracy theories, and covary in prevalence with sociodemographic variables. These results indicate that attempts to counter non-compliance through argument should account for this diversity in peoples{\textquoteright} underlying opinions, and inform conversations aimed at bridging the gap between the general public and bodies of authority accordingly.",

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author = "Maria B{\u a}l{\u a}eț and Kurtin, {Danielle L.} and Gruia, {Dragos C.} and Annalaura Lerede and Darije Custovic and William Trender and Jolly, {Amy E.} and Hellyer, {Peter J.} and Adam Hampshire",

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doi = "10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1183789",

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AU - Bălăeț, Maria

AU - Kurtin, Danielle L.

AU - Gruia, Dragos C.

AU - Lerede, Annalaura

AU - Custovic, Darije

AU - Trender, William

AU - Jolly, Amy E.

AU - Hellyer, Peter J.

AU - Hampshire, Adam

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Which population factors have predisposed people to disregard government safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic and what justifications do they give for this non-compliance? To address these questions, we analyse fixed-choice and free-text responses to survey questions about compliance and government handling of the pandemic, collected from tens of thousands of members of the UK public at three 6-monthly timepoints. We report that sceptical opinions about the government and mainstream-media narrative, especially as pertaining to justification for guidelines, significantly predict non-compliance. However, free text topic modelling shows that such opinions are diverse, spanning from scepticism about government competence and self-interest to full-blown conspiracy theories, and covary in prevalence with sociodemographic variables. These results indicate that attempts to counter non-compliance through argument should account for this diversity in peoples’ underlying opinions, and inform conversations aimed at bridging the gap between the general public and bodies of authority accordingly.

AB - Which population factors have predisposed people to disregard government safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic and what justifications do they give for this non-compliance? To address these questions, we analyse fixed-choice and free-text responses to survey questions about compliance and government handling of the pandemic, collected from tens of thousands of members of the UK public at three 6-monthly timepoints. We report that sceptical opinions about the government and mainstream-media narrative, especially as pertaining to justification for guidelines, significantly predict non-compliance. However, free text topic modelling shows that such opinions are diverse, spanning from scepticism about government competence and self-interest to full-blown conspiracy theories, and covary in prevalence with sociodemographic variables. These results indicate that attempts to counter non-compliance through argument should account for this diversity in peoples’ underlying opinions, and inform conversations aimed at bridging the gap between the general public and bodies of authority accordingly.

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KW - compliance

KW - COVID-19

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KW - topic modelling

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Mapping the sociodemographic distribution and self-reported justifications for non-compliance with COVID-19 guidelines in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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