tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Br J Health Psychol
. 2025 Nov;30(4):e70034.
doi: 10.1111/bjhp.70034. Are you afraid of COVID-19? Motivation and engagement in infection-prevention behaviour in a UK community cohort during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic
Rhiannon Phillips[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Britt Hallingberg[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anna Torrens-Burton[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fiona Wood[SUP] 2 [/SUP], David Gillespie[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Clare Glennan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paul Sellars[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sherina Lowe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aleysha Caffoor[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wouter Poortinga[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Karin Wahl-Jorgensen[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Denitza Williams[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Objectives: To investigate the relationship between motivation and COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design: Prospective longitudinal online survey in a UK community-based cohort.
Methods: During March/April 2020, n = 11,113 people, recruited via the HealthWise Wales research registry and social media advertising, completed the COVID-19 Public Experiences (COPE) study baseline survey, with follow-up at 3, 12, 18 and 24 months. Online questionnaires assessed COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour, perceived susceptibility, fear, personal control over infection transmission and reliability of information from media and government. Repeated-measures ANOVA identified changes in motivation and behaviour over time. Multivariable regression models at each time point assessed associations between motivation and behaviour.
Results: COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour and motivational variables (fear of COVID-19, perceived susceptibility and perceived control) fluctuated over time as the disease and socio-political environment changed, decreasing overall by 24 months. Regression models for association between motivational variables and COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour were statistically significant at three (F[SUB](10, 5981)[/SUB] = 76.69, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .112), 12 (F[SUB](11, 3732)[/SUB] = 48.40, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .122), 18 (F[SUB](11, 3665)[/SUB] = 108.34, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .243) and 24 months (F[SUB](11, 3355)[/SUB] = 136.20, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .306). Higher levels of fear, older age, lower perceived personal control over infection transmission, more trust in government and less trust in social media were associated with more infection-prevention behaviour.
Conclusions: Motivation to engage in infection-prevention behaviour during a pandemic is multi-factorial and dynamic. Beliefs about infection and trust in government and media need to be considered in developing effective communication strategies.
Keywords: COM‐B; COVID‐19; PRIME theory; infection–prevention behaviour; motivation; risk perception; survey.
. 2025 Nov;30(4):e70034.
doi: 10.1111/bjhp.70034. Are you afraid of COVID-19? Motivation and engagement in infection-prevention behaviour in a UK community cohort during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic
Rhiannon Phillips[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Britt Hallingberg[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anna Torrens-Burton[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fiona Wood[SUP] 2 [/SUP], David Gillespie[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Clare Glennan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paul Sellars[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sherina Lowe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aleysha Caffoor[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wouter Poortinga[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Karin Wahl-Jorgensen[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Denitza Williams[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 41200951
- PMCID: PMC12593319
- DOI: 10.1111/bjhp.70034
Objectives: To investigate the relationship between motivation and COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design: Prospective longitudinal online survey in a UK community-based cohort.
Methods: During March/April 2020, n = 11,113 people, recruited via the HealthWise Wales research registry and social media advertising, completed the COVID-19 Public Experiences (COPE) study baseline survey, with follow-up at 3, 12, 18 and 24 months. Online questionnaires assessed COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour, perceived susceptibility, fear, personal control over infection transmission and reliability of information from media and government. Repeated-measures ANOVA identified changes in motivation and behaviour over time. Multivariable regression models at each time point assessed associations between motivation and behaviour.
Results: COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour and motivational variables (fear of COVID-19, perceived susceptibility and perceived control) fluctuated over time as the disease and socio-political environment changed, decreasing overall by 24 months. Regression models for association between motivational variables and COVID-19 infection-prevention behaviour were statistically significant at three (F[SUB](10, 5981)[/SUB] = 76.69, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .112), 12 (F[SUB](11, 3732)[/SUB] = 48.40, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .122), 18 (F[SUB](11, 3665)[/SUB] = 108.34, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .243) and 24 months (F[SUB](11, 3355)[/SUB] = 136.20, p < .001, adjusted R[SUP]2[/SUP] .306). Higher levels of fear, older age, lower perceived personal control over infection transmission, more trust in government and less trust in social media were associated with more infection-prevention behaviour.
Conclusions: Motivation to engage in infection-prevention behaviour during a pandemic is multi-factorial and dynamic. Beliefs about infection and trust in government and media need to be considered in developing effective communication strategies.
Keywords: COM‐B; COVID‐19; PRIME theory; infection–prevention behaviour; motivation; risk perception; survey.