Adolescents at a Distance: The Importance of Socio-Cognitive Factors in Preventive Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: In many countries, physical distancing is seen as one of the crucial preventive measures for limiting the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is likely to be very difficult to ensure that adolescents keep apart from one another since peer interactions are extremely significant for them. Aims: We examined the utility of the Theory of Planned Behavior enhanced with a construct of the Protection Motivation Theory for predicting physical distancing behavior among adolescents during the period following the national lockdown imposed in Italy to tackle the pandemic. Method: Measures of attitude, subjective norm, perceptions of behavioral control, perceptions of threat regarding personal health and the health of loved ones, and intention were administered to the participants (N = 363) at baseline. Measures of physical distancing behavior were then administered 3 weeks later (N = 350). Results: The tested structural equation model accounted for 77% of variance in intention and 25% of variance in behavior. Perceived behavioral control and attitude were important predictors of intention and behavior, while the data did not support the hypothesized impact of perceptions of threat. Limitation: Due to the observational nature of the data caution should be taken in drawing causal inferences. Conclusion: The results suggest that programs for increasing physical distancing behavior in adolescents by concentrating exclusively on risks to their health or that of their loved ones might prove to be ineffective. Instead, it seems likely that prevention campaigns targeting adolescents will be more successful if they focus on perceived behavioral control and attitude.