The impact of national culture on the increase of COVID-19: A cross-country analysis of European countries

Interdependency or submission to authority? The impacts of horizontal and vertical collectivist orientation on vaccine attitudes in mainland China

Culture has a profound impact on preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research has revealed that collectivism is associated with more effective responses to COVID-19 on the national or regional level. However, the impact of different components of collectivist orientation on vaccine attitudes remains insufficiently explored on the individual level. Two survey studies conducted in August 2021 in mainland China consistently found that individual-level horizontal collectivist orientation, rather than vertical collectivist orientation, was linked with more favourable vaccine attitudes. Specifically, Study 1 (N = 731) indicated that horizontal collectivist orientation was positive associated with vaccination intention indirectly via risk perception, and horizontal collectivist orientation was also positively associated with vaccination persuasion both directly and indirectly via risk perception. Study 2 (N = 1481), employing multilevel modelling, demonstrated that the link between horizontal collectivist orientation and confidence in vaccines remained robust regardless of provincial-level variations in socioeconomic development and cultural tightness. These findings convergently suggest that the positive vaccine attitudes among mainland Chinese are primarily driven by an amplified risk perception due to concern for others, rather than submission to authority.

Examining the cultural influence on online stances towards COVID-19 preventive measures and their impact on incidence and mortality: A global stance detection analysis of tweets

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nations implemented various preventive measures, triggering varying online responses. This study examines cultural influences on public online stances toward these measures and their impacts on COVID-19 cases/deaths. Stance detection analysis was used to analyze 16,428,557 Tweets regarding COVID-19 preventive measures from 95 countries, selected based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions. To ensure the variety of population, countries were chosen based on Twitter data availability and a minimum sample size of 385 tweets, achieving a 95% confidence level with a 5% margin of error. The weighted regression analysis revealed that the relationship between culture and online stances depends on the cultural congruence of each measure. Specifically, power distance positively predicted stances for all measures, while indulgence had a negative effect overall. Effects of other cultural indices varied across measures. Individualism negatively affected face coverings stances. Uncertainty avoidance influenced lockdown and vaccination stances negatively but had a positive effect on social distancing stances. Long-term orientation negatively affected lockdown and social distancing stances but positively influenced quarantine stances. Cultural tightness only negatively affected face coverings and quarantine stances. Online stances toward face coverings mediated the relationship between cultural indices and COVID-19 cases/deaths. As such, public health officials should consider cultural profiles and use culturally congruent communication strategies when implementing preventive measures for future pandemics. Furthermore, leveraging digital tools is vital in navigating and shaping online stances to enhance the effectiveness of these measures.

Cultural dynamics influencing decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Italian case

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes to the life of most individuals, worldwide. This study explores the cultural factors influencing decision-making during the pandemic, and is part of the CORNER Project, funded by the Research Council of Norway, aimed at understanding institutional response in the early phases of the Covid-19 emergency in Norway, Sweden, and Italy. Semi-structured interviews with key political-administrative leaders in Italy (N = 35) were conducted and content-analyzed, allowing the identification of the underlying cultural dynamics that played a role in these decisions. Thematic analysis was used to assess the influence of cultural factors on the crisis management and early reaction of institutions and citizens to the spread of Covid. In line with previous studies, and as expected, the individualism vs. collectivism dimension can explain differential health outcomes during the outbreak. In this paper we argue that individualism-collectivism cultural values can also play a pivotal role in public compliance with Covid-19 restrictions, and psychological responses during the pandemic.

Country's value priorities in health crisis: How dominant societal motivations shape COVID-19 severity

This paper presents two comprehensive studies examining how Schwartz's human values dimensions at the country level predict COVID-19 pandemic severity. Study 1 aggregated survey data across 89 countries from the European Social Survey and World Values Survey to assess societal-level conservation versus openness to change (CON-OTC) and self-enhancement versus self-transcendence (SE-ST) value-continuums. Study 2 developed an innovative archival measurement approach using 10 indicators to estimate these value dimensions for over 180 countries. Both studies employed multilevel modeling to test the relationships between country-level values and COVID-19 severity, measured through epidemiological indicators of transmission speed, case fatality rate, infection prevalence and mortality burden. Results revealed that the CON-OTC and SE-ST value-continuums showed consistent, significant negative associations with transmission speed and infection prevalence before adjusting for modernization, latitude, historical pathogen prevalence and government stringency across both studies. However, after accounting for these socioecological and policy covariates, the CON-OTC value-continuum positively predicted case fatality rate in both studies, implying conservation values could increase COVID-19 lethality. In contrast, across both studies, the SE-ST value-continuum negatively predicted case fatality rate after adjusting for the covariates, suggesting countries prioritizing self-enhancement values exhibited relatively lower pandemic severity and lethality when accounting for developmental, ecological, and policy factors. Accordingly, the studies advance theoretical understanding of how country's value priorities shape COVID-19 impact. Methodologically, these studies contribute through multilevel techniques that account for spatial dependencies, as well as an innovative ecological measurement. Overall, this research demonstrates the value of applying Schwartz's framework at a societal level to predict global health crises and pandemics.

Enhanced EPIRISK tool for rapid epidemic risk analysis

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to create an enhanced EPIRISK tool in order to correctly predict COVID-19 severity in various countries. The original EPIRISK tool was developed in 2018 to predict the epidemic risk and prioritise response. The tool was validated against nine historical outbreaks prior to 2020. However, it rated many high-income countries that had poor performance during the COVID-19 pandemic as having lower epidemic risk.

STUDY DESIGN

This study was designed to modify EPIRISK by reparameterizing risk factors and validate the enhanced tool against different outbreaks, including COVID-19.

METHODS

We identified three factors that could be indicators of poor performance witnessed in some high-income countries: leadership, culture and universal health coverage. By adding these parameters to EPIRISK, we created a series of models for the calibration and validation. These were tested against non-COVID outbreaks in nine countries and COVID-19 outbreaks in seven countries to identify the best-fit model. The COVID-19 severity was determined by the global incidence and mortality, which were equally divided into four levels.

RESULTS

The enhanced EPIRISK tool has 17 parameters, including seven disease-related and 10 country-related factors, with an algorithm developed for risk level classification. It correctly predicted the risk levels of COVID-19 for all seven countries and all nine historical outbreaks.

CONCLUSIONS

The enhanced EPIRSIK is a multifactorial tool that can be widely used in global infectious disease outbreaks for rapid epidemic risk analysis, assisting first responders, government and public health professionals with early epidemic preparedness and prioritising response to infectious disease outbreaks.

How Rice Fights Pandemics: Nature-Crop-Human Interactions Shaped COVID-19 Outcomes

Wealthy nations led health preparedness rankings in 2019, yet many poor nations controlled COVID-19 better. We argue that a history of rice farming explains why some societies did better. We outline how traditional rice farming led to tight social norms and low-mobility social networks. These social structures helped coordinate societies against COVID-19. Study 1 compares rice- and wheat-farming prefectures within China. Comparing within China allows for controlled comparisons of regions with the same national government, language family, and other potential confounds. Study 2 tests whether the findings generalize to cultures globally. The data show rice-farming nations have tighter social norms and less-mobile relationships, which predict better COVID outcomes. Rice-farming nations suffered just 3% of the COVID deaths of nonrice nations. These findings suggest that long-run cultural differences influence how rice societies-with over 50% of the world's population-controlled COVID-19. The culture was critical, yet the preparedness rankings mostly ignored it.

Beyond the surface: accounting for confounders in understanding the link between collectivism and COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

According to the parasite-stress theory, collectivism serves as a trait of ingroup assortative sociality, providing defense against infectious diseases. This study investigated the association between cultural collectivism and COVID-19 severity at the state (Study 1: N = 51), county (Study 2: N = 3,133), and daily (Study 3: N = 52,806) levels from the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2022. State-level collectivism was assessed using two distinct measures: the U.S. collectivism index, focusing on social interconnectedness and interdependence, and the subjective-culture individualism-collectivism index (reversed), capturing attitudes and beliefs related to religion, abortion, and same-sex marriage. By employing random-intercept multilevel models, the results demonstrated significant and negative effects of state-level collectivism, as measured by the U.S collectivism index, on COVID-19 cases per million, COVID-19 deaths per million, and composite COVID-19 severity index, after controlling for confounding factors, such as socioeconomic development, ecological threats, disease protective behaviors, cultural norms, and political influences. A mini meta-analysis (Study 4: N = 9) confirmed the significance of these effects across studies. These findings supported the proactive role of collectivism in defending against the novel coronavirus in the United States, aligning with the parasite-stress theory of sociality. However, the subjective-culture individualism-collectivism index (reversed) did not exhibit a significant relationship with COVID-19 severity when confounding factors were considered. The high correlation between the subjective-culture individualism-collectivism index (reversed) and the controlled variables suggested shared variance that could diminish its impact on COVID-19 outcomes. Accordingly, the present findings underscore the significance of accounting for confounding factors when examining the association between collectivism and COVID-19 severity at population level. By considering relevant confounding factors, researchers could gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between cultural collectivism and its influence on COVID-19 severity. Overall, this research contributes to our understanding of how cultural collectivism shapes the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, emphasizing the importance of adjusting for confounding effects in population level studies.

I belong, therefore I am: The role of economic culture in compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures

Cultural orientations in relation to individualism and collectivism produced by subsistence strategies can lead to a wide array of consequences for perception, cognition, and emotion. We predict that, as a result of different economic patterns, farmers with greater collectivism would show more compliance with COVID-19 precautionary behavior than herders with greater individualism. By adopting a "just minimal difference" approach, we compared Chinese farming and herding communities that share a national identity, ethnicity, and residential area but vary in their degree of individualism-collectivism. Consistent with our hypothesis, Study 1 found that farmers reported higher compliance with prevention initiatives than herders in self-report survey. Study 2 provided a behavioral choice confirmation of the observed relationship. The present research provides the empirical evidence that economic activities can have divergent effects on mitigation strategies in the COVID-19 fight, and these results have meaningful implications for socioecological psychology theory and for pandemic prevention and control.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

How National Culture Influences the Speed of COVID-19 Spread: Three Cross-Cultural Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 222 countries and territories around the globe. Notably, the speed of COVID-19 spread varies significantly across countries. This cross-cultural research proposes and empirically examines how national culture influences the speed of COVID-19 spread in three studies. Study 1 examines the effects of Hofstede's national cultural dimensions on the speed of COVID-19 spread in 60 countries. Drawing on the GLOBE study (House et al., 2004), Study 2 investigates how GLOBE cultural dimensions relate to the speed of the pandemic's spread in 55 countries. Study 3 examines the effect of cultural tightness in 31 countries. We find that five national cultural dimensions - power distance, uncertainty avoidance, humane orientation, in-group collectivism, and cultural tightness - are significantly related to the speed of COVID-19 spread in the initial stages, but not in the later stages, of the pandemic. Study 1 shows that the coronavirus spreads faster in countries with small power distance and strong uncertainty avoidance. Study 2 supports these findings and further reveals that countries with low humane orientation and high in-group collectivism report a faster spread of the disease. Lastly, Study 3 shows that COVID-19 spreads slower in countries with high cultural tightness.

Does Distance Still Matter? Moderating Effects of Distance Measures on the Relationship Between Pandemic Severity and Bilateral Tourism Demand

This study aims to investigate the moderating effects of various distance measures on the relationship between relative pandemic severity and bilateral tourism demand. After confirming its validity using actual hotel and air demand measures, we leveraged data from Google Destination Insights to understand daily bilateral tourism demand between 148 origin countries and 109 destination countries. Specifically, we estimated a series of fixed-effects panel data gravity models based on the year-over-year change in daily demand. Results show that a 10% increase in seven-day smoothed COVID-19 cases led to a 0.0658% decline in year-over-year demand change. The moderating distance measures include geographic, cultural, economic, social, and political distance. Results show that long-haul tourism demand was less affected by a destination's pandemic severity relative to tourists' place of origin. The moderating effect of national cultural dimensions indulgence versus constraints was also confirmed. Lastly, a discussion and implications for international destination marketing are provided.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions and urban vehicle mobility in Seoul during the COVID-19 pandemic

Non-pharmaceutical interventions to control human mobility are important in preventing COVID-19 transmission. These interventions must also help effectively control the urban mobility of vehicles, which can be a safer travel mode during the pandemic, at any time and place. However, few studies have identified the effectiveness of vehicle mobility in terms of time and place. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions at both local and national levels on intra- and inter-urban vehicle mobility by time of day in Seoul, South Korea, by applying the autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous variables. The study found that social distancing measures at the national level were effective for intra-urban vehicle mobility, especially at night-time, but not for inter-urban mobility. Information provision with emergency text messages by cell phone was effective in reducing vehicle mobility in daytime and night-time, but not during morning peak hours. At the local level, both restrictions on late-night transit operations and stricter social distancing measures were mostly significant in reducing night-time mobility only in intra-urban areas. The study also indicates when (what time of the day), where (which area within the city), and which combination strategy could be more effective in containing urban vehicle mobility. This study recommends that restrictions on human mobility should also be extended to vehicle mobility, especially in inter-urban areas and during morning peak hours, by systematically designing diverse non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Differences in and drivers of mental, social, functional, and financial well-being during COVID-19: Evidence from Australia, France, Germany, and South Africa

COVID-19 has a substantial and unexpected impact on individuals’ daily life around the world. Unprecedented public health restrictions such as lockdowns have the potential to affect multiple dimensions of individuals’ well-being, while the severity of such restrictions varies across countries. However, a holistic perspective comparing differences in and drivers of the different dimensions of well-being across countries differentially affected by COVID-19 is missing to date. We address this gap in the literature by examining the mental, social, functional, and financial well-being of 2,100 individuals across Australia, France, Germany, and South Africa by means of a survey administered during May of 2021. Supporting our holistic approach, we find that the different dimensions of well-being are correlated, with survey respondents from France reporting the lowest and those from Australia reporting the highest overall level of well-being. Respondents’ subjective and objective evaluations of their living conditions during lockdowns as well as positive health and financial behaviors are positively associated with their well-being during the pandemic.

A conceptual model of mindful organizing for effective safety and crisis management. The role of organizational culture

The Covid-19 pandemic has involved nations world-wide in the necessity to manage and control the spread of infection, and challenged organizations to effectively counteract an unchartered medical crisis while preserving the safety of workers. While the pandemic and geopolitical turmoil caused by the war in Ukraine are recent examples of complex environments that require effective safety and crisis management, organizations may generally need to find ways to deal with the unexpected and reliably perform in the face of fluctuations. Mindful organizing (MO) is defined as the collective capability to detect discriminatory details about emerging issues and act swiftly in response to these details, thus allowing members to anticipate, and recover from, any errors or unexpected events that arise. Organizational culture refers to the mindset shared among members which orients their actions and thus qualifies as a relevant contextual factor that determines whether the specific forms of perceiving and acting entailed by MO may emerge in an organization. The present paper aimed to propose a conceptual model linking organizational culture, MO and organizational outcomes (i.e., safety, reliability, crisis management), and delineate arguments to address the match/mismatch between MO and culture types. Specifically, it is proposed that organizational culture determines the way an organization develops MO and the subsequent ability to handle unexpected events which might jeopardize organizational effectiveness and safety. Our contribution bridges the still disparate fields of MO and organizational culture, and provides scholars and practitioners with a complexity- and uncertainty-sensitive integrative framework in order to intervene on organizational outcomes.

Heightened religiosity proactively and reactively responds to the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe: Novel insights from the parasite-stress theory of sociality and the behavioral immune system theory

According to the parasite-stress theory of sociality and the behavioral immune system theory, heightened religiosity serves an anti-pathogen function by promoting in-group assortative sociality. Thus, highly religious countries/territories could have better control of the COVID-19 (proactively avoids disease-threat), and heightened COVID-19 threat could increase religiosity (reactively responds to disease-threat). As expected, country-level religiosity (religion-related online searches (Allah, Buddhism, Jesus, etc.) and number of total religions/ethnoreligions) negatively and significantly predicted COVID-19 severity (a composite index of COVID-19 susceptibility, reproductive rate, morbidity, and mortality rates) (Study 1a), after accounting for covariates (e.g., socioeconomic factors, ecological factors, collectivism index, cultural tightness-looseness index, COVID-19 policy response, test-to-case ratio). Moreover, multilevel analysis accounting for daily- (e.g., time-trend effect, season) and macro-level (same as in Study 1a) covariates showed that country-level religious searches, compared with the number of total religions/ethnoreligions, were more robust in negatively and significantly predicting daily-level COVID-19 severity during early pandemic stages (Study 1b). At weekly level, perceived coronavirus threat measured with coronavirus-related searches (corona, covid, covid-19, etc.), compared with actual COVID-19 threat measured with epidemiological data, showed larger effects in positively predicting religious searches (Study 2), after accounting for weekly- (e.g., autocorrelation, time-trend effect, season, religious holidays, major-illness-related searches) and macro-level (e.g., Christian-majority country/territory and all country-level variables in Study 1) covariates. Accordingly, heightened religiosity could proactively and reactively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe.

Flexible societies excelled in saving lives in the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Previous studies have shown that national cultural traits, such as collectivism–individualism and tightness–looseness, are associated with COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. However, although East Asian countries have outperformed other countries in containing COVID-19 infections and lowering mortality in the first pandemic waves, no studies to date have examined flexibility-monumentalism, a cultural trait that uniquely distinguishes East Asia from the rest of the world. Moreover, none of the previous studies have explored mechanisms underpinning the association between national culture and COVID-19 mortality.

Aims

Our study fills in these gaps by examining the association between flexibility-monumentalism and COVID-19 mortality, adjusting for important covariates and by analyzing mask wearing and fear of COVID-19 during the first weeks of the pandemic as plausible mechanisms underpinning this association.

Methods

We constructed and analyzed a dataset including 37 countries that have valid information on flexibility-monumentalism, COVID-19 deaths as of 31 October 2020 (before the start of vaccination campaigns), and relevant covariates including two other national cultural traits (individualism–collectivism and tightness–looseness) and other national characteristics (economic, political, demographic and health). Multiple linear regression with heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors was used to assess the independent effect of flexibility-monumentalism on COVID-19 mortality. Mediation was assessed by examining the indirect effects of flexibility through mask wearing and fear of COVID-19 and determining the statistical significance through bootstrapping. Graphical and delete-one analysis was used to assess the robustness of the results.

Results

We found that flexibility was associated with a significant reduction in COVID-19 mortality as of 31 October 2020, independent of level of democracy, per capita GDP, urbanization, population density, supply of hospital beds, and median age of the population. This association with mortality is stronger and more robust than for two other prominent national cultural traits (individualism–collectivism and tightness–looseness). We also found tentative evidence that the effect of flexibility on COVID-19 mortality may be partially mediated through mask wearing in the first weeks of the pandemic.

Culture and COVID-19-related mortality: a cross-sectional study of 50 countries

Using a cross-sectional sample of 50 countries we investigate the influence of Hofstede’s six-dimensions of culture on COVID-19 related mortality. A multivariable regression model was fitted that controls for health-related, economic- and policy-related variables that have been found to be associated with mortality. We included the percentage of population aged 65 and above, the prevalence of relevant co-morbidities, and tobacco use as health-related variables. Economic variables were GDP, and the connectedness of a country. As policy variables, the Oxford Stringency Index as well as stringency speed, and the Global Health Security Index were used. We also describe the importance of the variables by means of a random forest model. The results suggest that individualistic societies are associated with lower COVID-19-related mortality rates. This finding contradicts previous studies that supported the popular narrative that collectivistic societies with an obedient population are better positioned to manage the pandemic.

Mobility patterns and COVID growth: Moderating role of country culture

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in countries reacting differently to an ongoing crisis situation. Latent to this reaction mechanism is the inherent cultural characteristics of each society resulting in differential responses to epidemic spread. Epidemiological studies have confirmed the positive effect of population mobility on the growth of infection. However, the effect of culture on indigenous mobility patterns during pandemics needs further investigation. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the moderating role of country culture on the relationship between population mobility and growth of CoVID-19. Hofstede's cultural factors; power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term and short-term orientation are hypothesised to moderate the effect of mobility on the reproduction number (R) of COVID-19. Panel regression model, using mobility data and number of confirmed cases across 95 countries for a period of 170 days has been preferred to test the hypotheses. The results are further substantiated using slope analysis and Johnson-Neyman technique. The findings suggest that as power distance, individualism and long-term orientation scores increase, the impact of mobility on epidemic growth decreases. However, masculinity scores in a society have an opposite moderating impact on epidemic growth rate. These Hofstede factors act as quasi moderators affecting mobility and epidemic growth. Similar conclusions could be not be confirmed for uncertainty avoidance. Cross-cultural impact, as elucidated by this study, forms a crucial element in policy formulation on epidemic control by indigenous Governing bodies.

Cross-National Comparison of Religion as a Predictor of COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

We examined the effects of religiosity on COVID-19 vaccination rates using a cross-national comparison while controlling for socio-economic factors and culture. Our analysis, conducted on data from 90 countries representing 86% of the world population, showed that Christianity was negatively related to vaccination, while there was no relation with Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and nonbelief. The importance of religion, freedom of expression and belief, sex ratio, median age, and almost all cultural factors were not related to vaccination, whereas Human Development Index was. The influence of different religions on vaccination rates has also been described.

The roles of national culture in affecting quality management practices and quality performance - multilevel and multi-country analysis

Purpose

This study investigates the role of national culture on the implementation and effectiveness of quality management practices. Specifically, the authors examine the dual roles of two of Hofstede's national culture dimensions (individualism and indulgence) in driving the implementation of people management practices and in moderating the relationship between people management and product quality performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors’ dataset combines a survey of 976 firms from 22 countries with Hofstede's national culture index. A multi-level analysis, at firm and country levels, is used for investigating the interplay between two dimensions of national culture (individualism and indulgence) on people management practices and product quality performance.

Findings

The authors' findings show the negative relationship between indulgence (at country level) and people management practices (at firm level) while individualism (at country level) strengthens the relationship between people management and product quality performance (at firm level). Furthermore, the finding shows that the joint interaction between individualism and indulgence (at country level) moderates the relationship between people management and product quality performance (at firm level) where the relationship is strongest when individualism is high and indulgence is low.

Practical implications

Understanding the interplay between national culture and management practices is important for managers in making decisions on the practices managers should implement under different cultural contexts to gain the expected outcomes.

Originality/value

The authors' results challenge the universalist view that suggests that quality management practices (in this case people management practices) can be applied in any context effectively to achieve high product quality performance by showing that facets of national culture influence the implementation and effectiveness of people management practices and performance. The results also provide a fresh perspective on the role of indulgence, given that it is the newest dimension in Hofstede's framework. The authors also extend previous studies which commonly only examine the main and not interactive effects of different dimensions of national culture.

How national leaders keep 'us' safe: A longitudinal, four-nation study exploring the role of identity leadership as a predictor of adherence to COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether citizens' adherence to health-protective non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted by identity leadership, wherein leaders are perceived to create a sense of shared national identity.

DESIGN

Observational two-wave study. Hypotheses testing was conducted with structural equation modelling.

SETTING

Data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, Germany, Israel and the USA in April/May 2020 and four weeks later.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults in China (n=548, 66.6% women), Germany (n=182, 78% women), Israel (n=198, 51.0% women) and the USA (n=108, 58.3% women).

MEASURES

Identity leadership (assessed by the four-item Identity Leadership Inventory Short-Form) at Time 1, perceived shared national identification (PSNI; assessed with four items) and adherence to health-protective NPIs (assessed with 10 items that describe different health-protective interventions; for example, wearing face masks) at Time 2.

RESULTS

Identity leadership was positively associated with PSNI (95% CI 0.11 to 0.30, p<0.001) in all countries. This, in turn, was related to more adherence to health-protective NPIs in all countries (95% CI 0.03 to 0.36, 0.001≤p≤0.017) except Israel (95% CI -0.03 to 0.27, p=0.119). In Germany, the more people saw Chancellor Merkel as engaging in identity leadership, the more they adhered to health-protective NPIs (95% CI 0.04 to 0.18, p=0.002). In the USA, in contrast, the more people perceived President Trump as engaging in identity leadership, the less they adhered to health-protective NPIs (95% CI -0.17 to -0.04, p=0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

National leaders can make a difference by promoting a sense of shared identity among their citizens because people are more inclined to follow health-protective NPIs to the extent that they feel part of a united 'us'. However, the content of identity leadership (perceptions of what it means to be a nation's citizen) is essential, because this can also encourage people to disregard such recommendations.

Relationship Between COVID-19 Threat Beliefs and Individual Differences in Demographics, Personality, and Related Beliefs

Individual differences in demographics, personality, and other related beliefs are associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat beliefs. However, the relative contributions of these different types of individual differences to COVID-19 threat beliefs are not known. In this study, a total of 1,700 participants in Croatia (68% female; age 18-86 years) completed a survey that included questions about COVID-19 risks, questions about related beliefs including vaccination beliefs, trust in the health system, trust in scientists, and trust in the political system, the HEXACO 60 personality inventory, as well as demographic questions about gender, age, chronic diseases, and region. We used hierarchical regression analyses to examine the proportion of variance explained by demographics, personality, and other related beliefs. All three types of individual differences explained a part of the variance of COVID-19 threat beliefs, with related beliefs explaining the largest part. Personality facets explained a slightly larger amount of variance than personality factors. These results have implications for communication about COVID-19.

Justice beliefs and cultural values predict support for COVID-19 vaccination and quarantine behavioral mandates: a multilevel cross-national study

Understanding how individual beliefs and societal values influence support for measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission is vital to developing and implementing effective prevention policies. Using both Just World Theory and Cultural Dimensions Theory, the present study considered how individual-level justice beliefs and country-level social values predict support for vaccination and quarantine policy mandates to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Data from an international survey of adults from 46 countries (N = 6424) were used to evaluate how individual-level beliefs about justice for self and others, as well as national values-that is, power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence-influence support for vaccination and quarantine behavioral mandates. Multilevel modeling revealed that support for vaccination and quarantine mandates were positively associated with individual-level beliefs about justice for self, and negatively associated with country-level uncertainty avoidance. Significant cross-level interactions revealed that beliefs about justice for self were associated more strongly with support for mandatory vaccination in countries high in individualism, whereas beliefs about justice for others were more strongly associated with support for vaccination and quarantine mandates in countries high in long-term orientation. Beliefs about justice and cultural values can independently and also interactively influence support for evidence-based practices to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, such as vaccination and quarantine. Understanding these multilevel influences may inform efforts to develop and implement effective prevention policies in varied national contexts.

Why tightness alone is not enough: The varying anti-pathogenic effects of rational values and cultural tightness at different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic

Gelfand et al. demonstrated that tight cultural norms lowered COVID-19 transmissions and deaths, but can’t account for the lag between the beginning of the pandemic and the significance of tightness. Rational values help citizens adopt novel behavioral norms necessary to inhibit viral transmission. Multiple regression analysis on COVID-19 cases and deaths within twelve 25-day stages of the pandemic revealed that rational values were particularly significant in subduing COVID-19 cases and deaths by facilitating citizen adoption of novel behavioral norms during the acceleration phase of two pandemic waves. Rationality’s significance was highly correlated with the period to period increase in cases r(7) = −0.9, p < 0.001 and deaths, r(7) = −0.72, p < 0.05. Tightness became significant several months into the pandemic only after novel norms had become widely accepted. While rational values facilitate speedy adoption of effective anti-viral behavioral norms, tightness exerts pressure on citizens to comply with the new norms.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Quality of Life of Households in Saudi Arabia

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every stratum of the population and all categories of households to varying degrees. The impact of the pandemic on the quality of life (QoL) of populations is complex and can vary by region, socio-economic status, and other demographic factors. The main purpose of this study was to empirically examine the effects of pandemic trauma on the QoL of households in Saudi Arabia. Primary data from 506 households in different regions were collected through online surveys and estimated using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), statistical regression techniques, and ordered Probit analysis. It was found that the QoL of Saudi households dropped significantly due to the COVID-19 crisis. Demographically, there were significant differences in the impact of COVID-19 on QoL. Low-income households, large households, male-led households, urban households, households living in the central and western regions, households with head unemployment or low educational attainment, and households with elderly head reported greater QoL declines. The findings emphasize the significance of generating on-the-ground survey data to track the well-being of households during the crisis to accumulate the information required to construct evidence-based policy responses. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature on the impact of COVID-19 by providing additional evidence of the pandemic's impact at the household level. The study paints a grim picture of the effects of COVID-19, as it was carried out at a time when the coronavirus was spreading, millions were dying or fighting it in healthcare centers, and lockdowns were imposed throughout the world.

Individualism Versus Collectivism and the Early-Stage Transmission of COVID-19

We propose a perspective based on the individualism versus collectivism (IC) cultural distinction to understand the diverging early-stage transmission outcomes of COVID-19 between countries. Since individualism values personal freedom, people in such cultures would be less likely to make the collective action of staying at home and less likely to support compulsory measures. As a reaction to the public will, governments of individualistic societies would be more hesitant to take compulsory measures, leading to the delay of necessary responses. With processed COVID-19 data that can provide a fair comparison, we find that COVID-19 spread much faster in more individualistic societies than in more collectivistic societies. We further use pronoun drop and absolute latitude as the instruments for IC to address reverse causality and omitted variable bias. The results are robust to different measures. We propose to consider the role of IC not only for understanding the current pandemic but also for thinking about future trends in the world.

International psychological research addressing the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid scoping review and implications for global psychology

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Given that keeping abreast of international perspectives and research results is of particular importance for such massive global emergencies, we employed a scoping review methodology to rapidly map the field of international psychological research addressing this important early phase of the pandemic. We included a total of 79 studies, with data mostly collected between March and June 2020. This review aimed to systematically identify and map the nature and scope of international studies examining psychological aspects of the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. We mapped key research themes, subfields of psychology, the nature and extent of international research collaboration, data methods employed, and challenges and enablers faced by psychological researchers in the early stages of the pandemic. Among the wide range of themes covered, mental health and social behaviours were the key themes. Most studies were in clinical/health psychology and social psychology. Network analyses revealed how authors collaborated and to what extent the studies were international. Europe and the United States were often at the centre of international collaboration. The predominant study design was cross-sectional and online with quantitative analyses. We also summarised author reported critical challenges and enablers for international psychological research during the COVID pandemic, and conclude with implications for the field of psychology.

Sustainable or a Butterfly Effect in Global Tourism? Nexus of Pandemic Fatigue, COVID-19-Branded Destination Safety, Travel Stimulus Incentives, and Post-Pandemic Revenge Travel

Revenge travel has globally emerged as a dominant touristic behavior, signaling a rapid return of global tourism, but with a greater temptation for spending more and staying longer. Despite the expanding focus on global sustainable tourism, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the potential factors that build momentum for revenge travel. The aim of the present study was to develop and test a conceptualized model of revenge travel under the influence of pandemic fatigue, COVID-19-branded destination safety, and travel stimulus incentives. Drawing on the study data of international expats (N = 422) and using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM), the findings provide new evidence that revenge travel is significantly and positively influenced by pandemic fatigue. Interestingly, the empirical findings also support two positive moderations, highlighting that COVID-19-branded destination safety (CBDS) and travel stimulus incentives (TI) can significantly increase the impact of pandemic fatigue (PF) on revenge travel (RT). Based on prominent theories (i.e., theory of planned behavior, protection motivation theory, and incentive theory of motivation) and newly developed scales (i.e., RT, CBDS, and TI), the study highlights the dynamics of revenge travel as it sets the stage for global tourism to rebound stronger than ever. The implications include new challenges and ways forward through revenge travel as a stepping stone for global sustainable tourism.

COVID-19 concerns in cyberspace predict human reduced dispersal in the real world: Meta-regression analysis of time series relationships across American states and 115 countries/territories

On the basis of parasite-stress theory of sociality and behavioral immune system theory, this research examined how concerns regarding the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in cyberspace (i.e., online search volume for coronavirus-related keywords) would predict human reduced dispersal in the real world (i.e., human mobility trends throughout the pandemic) between January 05, 2020 and May 22, 2021. Multiple regression analyses controlling for COVID-19 cases per million, case fatality rate, death-thought accessibility, government stringency index, yearly trends, season, religious holidays, and reduced dispersal in the preceding week were conducted. Meta-regression analysis of the multiple regression results showed that when there were high levels of COVID-19 concerns in cyberspace in a given week, the amount of time people spent at home increased from the previous week across American states (Study 1) and 115 countries/territories (Study 2). Across studies, the associations between COVID-19 concerns and reduced dispersal were stronger in areas of higher historical risks of infectious-disease contagion. Compared with actual coronavirus threat, COVID-19 concerns in cyberspace had significantly larger effects on predicting human reduced dispersal in the real world. Thus, online query data have invaluable implications for predicting large-scale behavioral changes in response to life-threatening events in the real world and are indispensable for COVID-19 surveillance.

The role of ingroup assortative sociality in the COVID-19 pandemic: A multilevel analysis of google trends data in the United States

This study tested how family ties and religiosity, two extended elements of ingroup assortative sociality, would predict group-level COVID-19 severity in the U.S. and how COVID-19 threat would predict ingroup assortative sociality at a weekly level. Multilevel models which analyzed the state-level archival (e.g., religious participation) and Google trends data (e.g., marriage for family ties; prayer for religiosity) on ingroup assortative sociality showed that religious search volume (from 2004 to 2019) significantly and negatively predicted COVID-19 severity (i.e., shorter time delay of first documented cases, shorter overall doubling times, higher reproductive ratio and higher case fatality ratio) across states (Study 1a) and counties (Study 1b) while search volume for family ties only significantly and negatively predicted county-level COVID-19 severity. Multilevel analyses also found that weekly COVID-19 severity weakly predicted weekly search volume of marriage and religion (Study 2a), but when COVID-19 threat was in the collective consciousness in a given week (i.e., Google search volume for coronavirus within 52 weeks), collective levels of ingroup assortative sociality increased from the previous week (Study 2b). Evidence across studies suggested that religiosity, compared with family ties, could serve a more important role for the U.S. people during the deadly pandemic.

Disparities in the Evolution of the COVID-19 Pandemic between Spanish Provinces

Spain experienced a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in autumn 2020, which has been approached with different measures by regional authorities. We analyze the presence of convergence in the cumulative incidence for 14 days (CI14) in provinces and self-governing cities. The Phillips-Sul methodology was used to study the grouping of behavior between provinces, and an ordered logit model was estimated to understand the forces that drive creating the different convergence clubs. We reject the presence of a single pattern of behavior in the evolution of the CI14 across territories. Four statistically different convergence clubs and an additional province (Madrid) with divergent behavior are observed. Provinces with developed agricultural and industrial economic sectors, high mobility, and a high proportion of Central and South American immigrants had the highest level of CI14. We show that the transmission of the virus is not homogeneous in the Spanish national territory. Our results are helpful for identifying differences in determinants that could explain the pandemic's evolution and for formulating hypotheses about the effectiveness of implemented measures.

Worry much? Preventive health behaviours related to worry across countries amid COVID-19

This study examined the relationship between worry and health behaviours using an online survey of 69,033 respondents from 32 countries. We hypothesized that past health behaviours predicted worry experienced, which in turn predicted future health behaviours, and included a metric of cultural distance from the US. Past behaviours such as maintaining physical distance predicted higher worry, whereas worry reduced the likelihood of going outside. Being culturally dissimilar to the US was associated with lower worry. However, cultural distance was not associated with future health behaviours. We analyse worry as an approach-avoidance motivator of health behaviours from a cross-cultural perspective, to facilitate effective health communication strategies.