Profiles of Social Distance Compliance: Psychological and Situational Predictors of Risky Behavior during COVID-19

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors underlying variability in compliance with CDC guidelines in response to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. To do this, we examined the frequency of once ordinary, but newly risky behavior (as deemed by CDC guidelines) in a sample of 482 MTurkers. We ran analyses probing the situational and dispositional variables that predicted variance in risky behavior using data-driven and hypothesis-generated approaches. We found situational and dispositional variables contributed unique variance to risky behavior, controlling for variability accounted for by demographic factors. More frequent report of risky activity was associated with higher extraversion, need for cognitive closure, behavior activation, and perceived resource scarcity; in contrast, more frequent report of risky activity was associated with less empathy and living space access, as well as younger age. To break down these findings, we used a cluster analysis to profile individuals, using only situational and dispositional variables belonging to seven clusters. Combined with testing differences in risk taking by cluster identity, we suggest this profile approach might allow consideration of multi-faceted attributes that influence adherence with public health guidance in the context of health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.