Background
Methods
Design and setting
Participants
Demographic and medical information | Valid percentage of total sample (N = 477) |
---|---|
Country | |
Northern Ireland | 96% |
Republic of Ireland | 4% |
Sex | |
Female | 73% |
Male | 27% |
Age | |
16 | 3.7% |
17 | 5.1% |
18 | 8.5% |
19 | 13.6% |
20 | 12.2% |
21 | 16.2% |
22 | 14.2% |
23 | 12.2% |
24 | 5.8% |
25 | 8.5% |
Living circumstances | |
Family Home | 81% |
Student accommodation | 2% |
Other rented accommodation | 12% |
Owned accommodation | 2.5% |
Other | 2.5% |
Numbers per household/living accommodation | |
0 | 0.5% |
1 | 1.1% |
2 | 14.6% |
3 | 21.2% |
4 | 30.8% |
5 | 20.6% |
6 | 7.7% |
7 | 2.7% |
8 | 0.3% |
9 | 0.3% |
10 | 0.3% |
Do you live with a chronic health condition? | |
Yes | 15.6% |
No | 84.4% |
Note. The majority of respondents reported living with Asthma or a mental health condition | |
Have you ever been diagnosed with COVID-19? | |
Yes | 1.1% |
No | 98.9% |
Have others in your household ever been diagnosed with COVID-19? | |
Yes | 2.7% |
No | 97.3% |
Have any of your friends ever been diagnosed with COVID-19? | |
Yes | 19.7% |
No | 80.3% |
Have you experienced COVID-19 symptoms? | |
Yes | 9.6% |
Unsure | 9.3% |
No | 81.1% |
Are you shielding yourself? | |
Yes | 4.1% |
No | 95.9% |
Not applicable | – |
Are you shielding others in your household/living accommodation? | |
Yes | 17.5% |
No | 81.1% |
Not applicable | 1.4% |
Materials and procedure
Analysis
Results
Barriers to social distancing (free-text question 1: perceived barriers)
COM-B component | Subtheme | Sample quote |
---|---|---|
Psychological Capability | Lack of clear guidance about expected behaviour Challenge of regulating behaviour Effect of alcohol on ability to maintain behaviour | “Vague statements about distancing because people can interpret it in different ways” (participant 9) “It’s just culture that you hug people when you see them so sometimes you get caught up you forget.” (participant 199) “It’s difficult when others don’t do it or when any alcohol is consumed.” (participant 185) |
Physical Capability | – | – |
Social Opportunity | Actions of others as a disincentive | “People ignore the regulations and guidance. So if someone passes close to me then it defeats the purpose of me doing it if very few are watching their distance around everyone.” (participant 235) |
Physical Opportunity | Lack of environmental support for social distancing | “Too many people in shops, too many people in general, not knowing what way to go in a shop” (participant 202) |
Automatic Motivation | Absence of physical affection and contact | “Seeing your friends and family after so long and not being able to hug” (participant 26) |
Reflective Motivation | Difficulty accepting the change in social behaviour’ Sense of low risk of transmission or contraction | “My family, friends, partner. Also, the fact i am sick of hearing the social distancing radio adverts constantly like propaganda. For me, the more i hear it, the less i listen.” (participant 307) “I want to be close to people I care about, to hug them, it’s hard if other people don’t as it feels pointless especially when transmission is very low” (participant 77) |
Psychological Capability
Regarding subtheme two, young people mentioned that it can be “easy to forget” to keep a distance from others while socialising because it’s not a habit (participant 25). This challenge of opposing entrenched social habits extends to the normative social behaviour people engage in while in the presence of others such as hugging others and shaking hands.“Working as a key worker with friends, then meeting up with them outside work - it is nigh on impossible to socially distance in work and masks are only just coming in, why would we bother distancing if we go for food after work whenever we have just been closer than distancing in work?” (participant 144)
Subtheme three overlaps with subtheme two, capturing young people’s thoughts around alcohol consumption. Some young people felt that alcohol makes it more likely that people will revert to old habits and forget to distance.“Habits - i.e. being able to freely hug family members before, reaching for something in a shop where someone is also looking at the same item” (participant 352)
“When people simply disregard the rules and get close to you. Alcohol also makes it difficult to stick to social distancing due to the loss of awareness.” (participant 198)
Social opportunity
“Pubs and restaurants not providing distancing at tables - have only met up with two friends since March, once for a walk and once to chat at a distance in a garden, and I left when the others went inside. Also, Instagram: everyone is posting pictures of themselves all over their friends at parties etc. and it’s so prevalent it sometimes makes me wonder if I’ve just imagined the whole pandemic? Why do I stick so strongly to the guidelines when nobody else I know seems to?” (participant 118)
Physical Opportunity
Some young people also mentioned having to car share as an unavoidable barrier to keeping distance.“Small spaces in shops, corridors, work, friends houses etc... it isn’t always possible to effectively socially distance in certain places. Some people are also not very considerate of your own space” (participant 161)
“Most of my friends don’t drive so they have to get into my car” (participant 83)
Automatic Motivation
“I live in a rural area, and I was the loneliest I have ever been during lockdown. I was almost desperate to get back to Belfast to see my friends and boyfriend, who I hadnt seen in four months.” (participant 315)
Reflective Motivation
Regarding the second subtheme, a smaller group of young people found it difficult to perceive the risk of not social distancing for reasons including disbelief of the infectiousness and seriousness of COVID-19 and feeling that measures taken such as forming a social “bubble of people to chat” meant they did not have to distance from friends (participant 344).“The pandemic being a new, unfamiliar situation in strange circumstances, causing it to feel unnatural to have to stay away from my friends etc., as I am used to closer contact with them - hugs, etc.” (participant 322)
“The fact that none of my friends or I have ever caught it despite not social distancing. Can be hard to appreciate its importance” (participant 220)
Facilitating social distancing (free-text question 2: perceived supports)
COM-B component | Subthemes | Sample quote |
---|---|---|
Psychological Capability | Clarity and consistency of guidelines and instructions Adapting (normal) lifestyle behaviour (include adapting usual forms of communication) | “Restrictions on everybody, clear and visible instructions” (participant 326) “Limiting how much time I actually spend with people outside my household. The more time you spend with people it’s easy to become used to it and forget about distancing” (participant 268) |
Physical Capability | – | – |
Social Opportunity | Actions of others as an incentive | “Having friends that are strict as well. If majority of people don’t, it makes you feel self conscious” (participant 15) |
Physical Opportunity | Environmental support for social distancing: cues and space | “Rules in shops, tape on floors etc. that give me guides on where I should be standing.” (participant 159) |
Automatic Motivation | Enforcement and perceived repercussions of not social distancing | “If it’s a legal requirement” (participant 1) |
Reflective Motivation | Awareness of risk of transmission | “The knowledge that it is the right thing to do to keep people safe.” (participant 349) |
Psychological Capability
Some young people reported that adjusting their daily lifestyle by, for instance, “staying at home as much as possible” (participant 287) and only going out when necessary helps them to keep distance by avoiding situations where they need to ensure that they keep a distance from others. A small number of young people also mentioned that adjusting forms of communication with family and friends, for example talking to “friends through social media” and changing the setting of social meetings by “meeting up with friends in quiet parks” (participant 233) helps them to avoid close contact.“Clearer views and instructions from the government as the people I know have varied knowledge of what’s the most up to date information.” (participant 284)
Social Opportunity
“Seeing others distancing make me distance” (participant 124)
Physical Opportunity
Another aspect of this subtheme related to the need to have adequate space to practice social distancing, which suggested that young people felt that keeping a distance from others is easier when the physical environment aids this, for example by restructuring indoor spaces or meeting others in outdoor settings.“Stickers on the ground, spaced out tables when eating, reminders on social media/billboards etc” (participant 155)
“Meeting outside, or in spaces/restaurants with good safety precautions and spacing” (participant 182)
Automatic Motivation
“when there are strict rules in shops/ businesses that easily instruct you what to do before entering. However I only actually do it if there is a member of staff at the door reminding everyone to use the soap dispenser.” (participant 321)
Reflective Motivation
A small group of young people also reported feeling more motivated to keep a distance from others in social situations after “Noticing that daily cases of covid are increasing” in their own “council area” (participant 251).“Knowing I’m less likely to make myself/others sick” (participant 64)
Facilitating social distancing (free-text question 3: further supports needed)
COM-B component | Subthemes | Sample quote |
---|---|---|
Psychological Capability | Clear and consistent guidelines Adjusting lifestyle and social activities | “Clearer guidelines. There are too many contradictions about!” (participant 177) |
Physical Capability | Environmental supports to facilitate and encourage behaviour | “Perspex glass divisions in indoor spaces, areas marked with tape outside, maybe a technological reminder that youre standing too close to someone? Like an app” (participant 305) |
Social Opportunity | Supportive beliefs and values of others | “If everyone had the same goal in mind. Lots of people don’t believe in the virus or in the prevention measures” (participant 130) |
Physical Opportunity | – | – |
Automatic Motivation | Enforcement of rules with repercussions | “More clear or strict guidelines, if it is necessary. If everyone is forced to do it, then it would be easier.” (participant 139) |
Reflective Motivation | Increasing awareness of the benefits versus risks Sense that nothing (more) can help | “More public understanding of the severity of coronavirus. Most people are bored of it now and seem to act like it doesn’t exist anymore.” (participant 158) “Nothing it’s always going to be hard” (participant 68) |
“Nothing. To be honest I have no ideas on how it could be made easier.” (participant 317)