TY - JOUR
T1 - Pandemic boredom
T2 - Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries
AU - PsyCorona Collaboration
AU - Westgate, Erin C
AU - Buttrick, Nicholas R
AU - Lin, Yijun
AU - El Helou, Gaelle
AU - Agostini, Maximilian
AU - Bélanger, Jocelyn J
AU - Gützkow, Ben
AU - Kreienkamp, Jannis
AU - Abakoumkin, Georgios
AU - Abdul Khaiyom, Jamilah Hanum
AU - Ahmedi, Vjollca
AU - Akkas, Handan
AU - Almenara, Carlos A
AU - Atta, Mohsin
AU - Bagci, Sabahat Cigdem
AU - Basel, Sima
AU - Berisha Kida, Edona
AU - Bernardo, Allan B I
AU - Chobthamkit, Phatthanakit
AU - Choi, Hoon-Seok
AU - Cristea, Mioara
AU - Csaba, Sára
AU - Damnjanovic, Kaja
AU - Danyliuk, Ivan
AU - Dash, Arobindu
AU - Di Santo, Daniela
AU - Douglas, Karen M
AU - Enea, Violeta
AU - Faller, Daiane Gracieli
AU - Fitzsimons, Gavan
AU - Gheorghiu, Alexandra
AU - Gómez, Ángel
AU - Hamaidia, Ali
AU - Han, Qing
AU - Helmy, Mai
AU - Hudiyana, Joevarian
AU - Jeronimus, Bertus F
AU - Jiang, Ding-Yu
AU - Jovanović, Veljko
AU - Koc, Yasin
AU - Krause, Joshua
AU - Kutlaca, Maja
AU - Martinez, Anton
AU - Nyúl, Boglárka
AU - Reitsema, Anne Margit
AU - Ryan, Michelle K
AU - Sasin, Edyta
AU - Stroebe, Wolfgang
AU - van Breen, Jolien Anne
AU - Van Veen, Kees
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional "lockdown") may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
AB - Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional "lockdown") may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
U2 - 10.1037/emo0001118
DO - 10.1037/emo0001118
M3 - Article
C2 - 36913277
SN - 1528-3542
VL - 23
SP - 2370
EP - 2384
JO - Emotion
JF - Emotion
IS - 8
ER -