Abstract
Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 517 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-14 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 26 Jan 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022, The Author(s).
Funding
project, funded by EY [Tyrala] Vetenskapsr\u00E5det (Swedish Research Council) [V\u00E4stfj\u00E4ll] Gouvernement du Canada | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada) - 435-2012-1135 [Wohl] Coordena\u00E7\u00E3o de Aperfei\u00E7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00EDvel Superior (Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education) - 88887.310255/2018 [Boggio] Coordena\u00E7\u00E3o de Aperfei\u00E7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00EDvel Superior (Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education) - 1133/2019 [Boggio] Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation | Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00EDfico e Tecnol\u00F3gico (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) - 309905/2019-2 [Boggio] Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Scheme, FAIR project No 262675 [Sj\u00E5stad] Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar [Pavlovi\u0107] J. William Fulbright Program [Azevedo] Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich [Birtel] Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar [Franc] Project Pro.Co.P.E., IMT School (PAI2019) [Bilancini] Italian Ministry of University and Research - PRIN 2017 (20178293XT) [Boncinelli] Princeton Graduate Student Research Funding (Program in Cognitive Science) [Vlasceanu] Corruption Laboratory on Ethics, Accountability, and the Rule of Law (CLEAR), University of Virginia [Yucel] Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich [Farmer] Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Scheme, FAIR project No 262675 [Ay] Charles Koch Foundation, Center for the Science of Moral Understanding [Gray] Australian Research Council (DP180102384) [Levy] JSPS KAKENHI (JP16H03079, JP17H00875, JP18K12015, JP20H04581, and 21H03784) [Yamada] St Andrews and Stirling Graduate Programme Research Funding [Sch\u00F6negger] Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar [Magli\u0107] S\u00E3o Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP (2019/ 27100-1) [Sampaio] Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar [Miklou\u0161i\u0107] Seele Neuroscience Social Projects Fund (2020/004) [Monroy-Fonseca] S\u00E3o Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP (2019/26665-5) [Rego] The authors wish to thank Katie Eilish Brown for constructive comments throughout the editorial process. We also acknowledge the following funding sources: John Templeton Foundation (JTF) - 61378 [Van Bavel] Narodowe Centrum Nauki (National Science Centre) - 2018/29/B/HS6/02826 [Cislak] RCUK | Medical Research Council (MRC) - MR/P014097/1 [Lockwood] Economic Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Award, University of Oxford [Lockwood] Gouvernement du Canada | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada) - 130760 [Choma] Gouvernement du Canada | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada) - SSHRC-506547 [Cunningham] Agent\u00FAra na Podporu V\u00FDskumu a V\u00FDvoja (Slovak Research and Development Agency) - APVV-17-0596 [Findor] Narodowe Centrum Nauki (National Science Centre) - 2015/19/B/HS6/01253 [Jasko] Academy of Finland (Suomen Akatemia) [Laakasuo] Austrian Science Fund (Fonds zur F\u00F6rderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung) - I3381 [Lamm] Universit\u00E4t Wien (University of Vienna) [Lamm] Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan) [Lin] Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond (Aarhus University Research Foundation) - AUFF-E-201 9-9-4 [Mitkidis] Vetenskapsr\u00E5det (Swedish Research Council) - 2018-00877 [Olsson] Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond (Aarhus University Research Foundation) - 28207 [Otterbring] Carlsbergfondet (Carlsberg Foundation) - CF20-0044 [Petersen] Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnolo\u0161kog Raz-voja (Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia) - 47010 [Todosijevi\u0107] NOMIS Stiftung (NOMIS Foundation) [Tsakiris] Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan) [Tung] National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) - 71972065 [Zhang] National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) - 71602163 [Zhang] RCUK | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - BB/R010668/1 [Apps] Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Agency) - ANR-17-EURE-0010 [Conway] Gou-vernement du Canada | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada) - SSHRC-506547 [Davis] Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) - EXC 2052/1 \u2013 390713894 [Frempong] Gouvernement du Canada | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles et en G\u00E9nie du Canada) [Fugelsang] Agent\u00FAra na Podporu V\u00FDskumu a V\u00FDvoja (Slovak Research and Development Agency) - APVV-17-0596 [Hru\u0161ka] Carlsbergfondet (Carlsberg Foundation) - CF20-0044 [J\u00F8rgensen] Gouvernement du Canada | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada) - SSHRC-506547 [Long] Austrian Science Fund (Fonds zur F\u00F6rderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung) - I3381 [Nitschke] Universit\u00E4t Wien (University of Vienna) [Nitschke] Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) - EXC 2052/1 \u2013 390713894 [Stadelmann] Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Agency) - ANR-10-IDEX-0001-02 PSL [Strickland] Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Agency) - ANR-17-EURE-0017 [Strickland] Vetenskapsr\u00E5det (Swedish Research Council) [Tingh\u00F6g] HKUST IEMS research grant
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| John Templeton Foundation | 61378 |
| John Templeton Foundation | |
| National Outstanding Youth Science Fund Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China | 71972065, 71602163 |
| National Outstanding Youth Science Fund Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China | |
| Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | |
| Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada | 130760, SSHRC-506547, 435-2012-1135 |
| Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada | |
| Medical Research Council | MR/P014097/1 |
| Medical Research Council | |
| Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council | BB/R010668/1 |
| Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council | |
| Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft | EXC 2052/1 – 390713894 |
| Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft | |
| Agence Nationale de la Recherche | ANR-10-IDEX-0001-02 PSL, ANR-17-EURE-0017, ANR-17-EURE-0010 |
| Agence Nationale de la Recherche | |
| Academy of Finland | |
| Austrian Science Fund | I3381 |
| Austrian Science Fund | |
| Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond | AUFF-E-201 9-9-4, 28207 |
| Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond | |
| Carlsbergfondet | CF20-0044 |
| Carlsbergfondet | |
| Ernst and Young | |
| Universität Wien | |
| Narodowe Centrum Nauki | 2015/19/B/HS6/01253, 2018/29/B/HS6/02826 |
| Narodowe Centrum Nauki | |
| Vetenskapsrådet | 2018-00877 |
| Vetenskapsrådet | |
| Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnološkog Razvoja | 47010 |
| Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnološkog Razvoja | |
| Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan | |
| Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja | APVV-17-0596 |
| Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja | |
| NOMIS Stiftung |
