1 Overview

The table below shows an overview of the study measures and timings of when they were measured:

2 Primary outcome measure

2.1 Risk behaviors

Measured at wave 1 (December 2020) wave 2 (January 2021) and wave 3 (December 2021)

We asked: How frequently, if at all, do you plan to do the following things in the next month?

Risk increasing behaviors

  • Q1. Going to gatherings of 10 or more people
  • Q2. Going on optional shopping trips
  • Q3. Going on optional travel
  • Q4. Having optional social visits
  • Q5. Eating inside restaurants, bars and food courts

Risk decreasing behaviors

  • Q6. Practicing good hygiene such as washing your hands, especially after touching frequently used items or surfaces
  • Q7. Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth when you are in a public place (e.g., store)
  • Q8. Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth when you are outdoors

Response scale: Never (1), Very rarely (2), Rarely (3), Occasionally (4), Frequently (5), Very frequently (6)

Reliability across waves is good

raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.8289232 0.8356725 0.8061625 0.5042343 5.08541 0.0088049 2.027312 0.956754 0.5246565
raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.8308709 0.8352593 0.8086059 0.5034828 5.070144 0.008701 2.063118 0.9823112 0.5231782
raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.8660147 0.868964 0.8448845 0.5701324 6.631488 0.0069245 2.31828 1.127038 0.5776737

See descriptives across waves

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
December 1 930 2.027312 0.9567540 1.8 1.890323 0.88956 1 6 5 1.1832051 1.0779307 0.0313732
January 2 930 2.063118 0.9823112 1.8 1.934409 0.88956 1 6 5 1.0472238 0.7061932 0.0322113
March 3 930 2.318280 1.1270379 2.0 2.195699 1.18608 1 6 5 0.9109276 0.2925676 0.0369570

Reliability across waves is poor <.53

raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.5446453 0.6227492 0.5252931 0.3549437 1.650757 0.0220342 5.110753 0.8682035 0.3715421
raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.558658 0.6401004 0.5474184 0.3721949 1.778553 0.0220904 5.10466 0.8817352 0.3566065
raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.5322676 0.6083205 0.5130136 0.3411094 1.553108 0.0231774 5.029032 0.8769494 0.3664434

So we just use the mask wearing measure (means across surveys shown)

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
December 1 930 5.726882 0.7864761 6 5.930108 0 1 6 5 -3.815565 16.48140 0.0257896
January 2 930 5.740860 0.7499891 6 5.926075 0 1 6 5 -3.987946 18.23596 0.0245931
March 3 930 5.687097 0.8155810 6 5.889785 0 1 6 5 -3.520997 14.08374 0.0267440 
## 
##  Descriptive statistics by group 
## group: December
##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed  mad min max range skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 2.03 0.96    1.8    1.89 0.89   1   6     5 1.18     1.08 0.03
## ------------------------------------------------------------ 
## group: January
##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed  mad min max range skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 2.06 0.98    1.8    1.93 0.89   1   6     5 1.05     0.71 0.03
## ------------------------------------------------------------ 
## group: March
##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed  mad min max range skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 2.32 1.13      2     2.2 1.19   1   6     5 0.91     0.29 0.04

## 
##  Descriptive statistics by group 
## group: current.behaviors_7.x
##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed mad min max range  skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 5.74 0.75      6    5.93   0   1   6     5 -3.99    18.24 0.02
## ------------------------------------------------------------ 
## group: current.behaviors_7.y
##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed mad min max range  skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 5.73 0.79      6    5.93   0   1   6     5 -3.82    16.48 0.03
## ------------------------------------------------------------ 
## group: current.behaviors_7
##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed mad min max range  skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 5.69 0.82      6    5.89   0   1   6     5 -3.52    14.08 0.03

3 Demographic variables

3.1 Age

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q. What is your age?

Response options:

  • 18 to 24
  • 25 to 34
  • 35 to 44
  • 45 to 54
  • 55 to 64
  • 65 to 74
  • 75 to 84
  • 85 or older

Summary statistics for the original age options are shown below (Median of 6 corresponds to 65-74).

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Age 1 928 5.720905 1.283332 6 5.920699 0 1 8 7 -1.485948 2.430853 0.0421274

This table shows number and percent of respondents for each age bracket overall and by Veteran status.

Age Overall Veteran non-Veteran
2 0.2% 2 0.3% 0 0.0%
18 to 24 10 1.1% 0 0.0% 10 2.9%
25 to 34 27 2.9% 0 0.0% 27 7.8%
35 to 44 39 4.2% 7 1.2% 32 9.2%
45 to 54 48 5.2% 9 1.5% 39 11.3%
55 to 64 116 12.5% 62 10.6% 54 15.6%
65 to 74 475 51.1% 328 56.2% 147 42.5%
75 to 84 198 21.3% 162 27.7% 36 10.4%
85 or older 15 1.6% 14 2.4% 1 0.3%
Total 930 100.0% 584 100.0% 346 100.0%

Summary statistics for the age options collapsed for analysis are shown below (Median of 3 corresponds to 55-74).

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Age: recoded 1 928 3.056034 0.6929186 3 3.119624 0 1 4 3 -0.7934924 1.386972 0.0227462
Age: recoded Overall Veteran non-Veteran
2 0.2% 2 0.3% 0 0.0%
18 to 34 37 4.0% 0 0.0% 37 10.7%
35 to 54 87 9.4% 16 2.7% 71 20.5%
55 to 74 591 63.5% 390 66.8% 201 58.1%
75 or older 213 22.9% 176 30.1% 37 10.7%
Total 930 100.0% 584 100.0% 346 100.0%

3.2 Rural/Urban

  • Q. How would you best describe the place where you live?

Response options:

  • Rural
  • Small city, e.g. less than 100,000 people
  • Suburban, near a large city
  • Mid-sized city, 100,000 to 1 million people
  • Large city, more than 1 million
  • Other, please specify

Just looking at rural vs urban

Residence Veteran
Rural 96 16.4%
Urban 485 83.0%
NA 3 0.5%
Total 584 100.0%
Urban_Fct Non-Veteran
Rural 55 15.9%
Urban 291 84.1%
Total 346 100.0%

3.3 Veteran status

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q. Are you a U.S. military Veteran?

Response options: No [non-Veteran] (0), Yes [Veteran] (1)

Veteran status n percent
Non-Veteran 346 37.2%
Veteran 584 62.8%

3.4 Total number of comorbidities

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

Q. As far as you know, do you have any of the following health conditions at the present time?

  • Asthma, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis, COPD (other lung disease)
  • Arthritis or rheumatism
  • Cancer, diagnosed in the past 3 years
  • Diabetes
  • Digestive problems (such as ulcer, colitis, or gallbladder disease)
  • Heart trouble (such as angina, congestive heart failure, or coronary artery disease, having a past heart attack)
  • HIV illness or AIDS
  • Kidney disease
  • Liver problems (such as cirrhosis)
  • Stroke
  • High blood pressure (hypertension)
  • Very overweight or obese

Response options: No, do not have this condition (0), Yes, I have this condition (1).

Citation: Charlson ME, Pompei P, Ales KL, MacKenzie CR. A new method of classifying prognostic comorbidity in longitudinal studies: Development and validation. J Chronic Dis. 1987;40(5):373-383. doi:10.1016/0021-9681(87)90171-8.

Reported number of comorbidites was summed for each respondent to create a total score. Summary statistics for the total reported number of comorbidities are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Total number of comorbidities 1 930 1.474193 1.3748 1 1.310484 1.4826 0 7 7 0.8309065 0.1605565 0.0450815

The figure below shows the distribution of respondents reported number of comorbidities.

3.5 Health literacy

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. How often do you have someone (like a family member, friend, hospital/clinic worker or caregiver) help you read instructions, pamphlets or other written health materials from your doctor or pharmacy?

Response scale: Never(1), Rarely(2), Sometimes(3), Often(4), Always(5).

Citation: Morris NS, MacLean CD, Chew LD, Littenberg B. The Single Item Literacy Screener: Evaluation of a brief instrument to identify limited reading ability. BMC Fam Pract. 2006;7(1):21. doi:10.1186/1471-2296-7-21.

Summary statistics for respondents health literacy are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Health Literacy 1 930 1.23871 0.6811363 1 1.052419 0 1 5 4 3.357355 11.8841 0.0223353

The figure below shows the distribution of respondents responses to the health literacy item.

3.6 Numeracy

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. How good are you at working with fractions?
  • Q2. How good are you at figuring out how much a shirt will cost if it is 25% off?

Response scale (slider): Not at all good(1), — (2), — (3), — (4), — (5) Extremely good (6).

  • Q3. How often do you find numerical information to be useful?

Response scale (slider): Never(1), — (2), — (3), — (4), — (5) Very often (6).

Citation: McNaughton CD, Cavanaugh KL, Kripalani S, Rothman RL, Wallston KA. Validation of a Short, 3-Item Version of the Subjective Numeracy Scale. Med Decis Mak Int J Soc Med Decis Mak. 2015;35(8):932-936. doi:10.1177/0272989X15581800.

Citation: Fagerlin A, Zikmund-Fisher BJ, Ubel PA, Jankovic A, Derry HA, Smith DM. Measuring numeracy without a math test: development of the Subjective Numeracy Scale. Med Decis Making. 2007;27(5):672-680. doi:10.1177/0272989X07304449

The reliability of the numeracy items was good (shown below), with Cronbach’s Alpha=.87. Items were then averaged to create a numeracy scale.

raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.475826 0.3134905 0.493991 0.1321062 0.456644 0.0219076 3.729391 0.7910568 -0.1571531

Summary statistics for the numeracy scale are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Numeracy 1 930 3.729391 0.7910568 4 3.842742 0.4942 1 5.666667 4.666667 -1.133454 1.208659 0.0259398

The figures below show the distribution of respondents responses to the individual numeracy items.

3.7 Race/Ethnicity

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. Are you Hispanic or Latino/a or Latinx?

Response options: No [non-Hispanic] (0), Yes [Hispanic] (1).

Overall Veteran non-Veteran
Non-Hispanic 837 90.0% 522 89.4% 315 91.0%
Hispanic 92 9.9% 61 10.4% 31 9.0%
No response 1 0.1% 1 0.2% 0 0.0%
Total 930 100.0% 584 100.0% 346 100.0%
  • Q2. What is your race? Mark all that apply.

Response options:

  • American Indian or Alaskan Native
  • Asian or Asian American
  • Black or African American
  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
  • White or European American
  • Other (please specify)

The table below shows the number and percent of respondents answers to the race and ethnicity questions together.

Hispanic Race n (%)
Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native 4 (0.5%)
Non-Hispanic Asian or Asian American 26 (3.1%)
Non-Hispanic Black or African American 64 (7.6%)
Non-Hispanic Multiple 8 (1.0%)
Non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 2 (0.2%)
Non-Hispanic Other 13 (1.6%)
Non-Hispanic White or European American 720 (86.0%)
No response White or European American 1 (100.0%)
Hispanic Asian or Asian American 1 (1.1%)
Hispanic Black or African American 5 (5.4%)
Hispanic Multiple 2 (2.2%)
Hispanic Other 4 (4.3%)
Hispanic White or European American 80 (87.0%)

The below table shows respondents Race/Ethnicity as coded for analysis.

Non-Hispanic White n percent
No 210 22.6%
Yes 720 77.4%

4 Risk and worry

4.1 Worry about getting COVID-19

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. How worried are you about getting COVID-19?

Response scale: Not at all worried (1), (2), (3), (4), Very worried (5).

Summary statistics for the worry about getting COVID-19 item are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Worry about COVID-19 1 930 2.91828 1.287427 3 2.897849 1.4826 1 5 4 0.1945095 -1.045154 0.0422164

The figure below shows the distribution of respondents responses to the worry about getting COVID-19 item.

4.2 COVID-19 risk perception

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. In your opinion, how likely is it that you will get COVID-19 during the next month?
  • Q2. If you were to get COVID-19, how likely do you think it is that you would need to be hospitalized?
  • Q3. If you were to get COVID-19, how likely do you think it is that you would die?

Response scale: Not at all likely (1), — (2), — (3), — (4), Very likely (5).

The reliability of the COVID-19 risk perception items is good (shown below), with Cronbach’s Alpha=.74. Items were then averaged to create a COVID-19 risk perception scale.

raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.7429823 0.7483663 0.6742347 0.4978264 2.97403 0.0139208 2.642294 0.9402066 0.5390999

Summary statistics for the COVID-19 risk perceptions scale are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
X1 1 930 2.642294 0.9402066 2.666667 2.628136 0.9884 1 5 4 0.1457433 -0.6567538 0.0308306

The figures below show the distribution of respondents responses to the individual COVID-19 risk perception items.

5 Facilitators and barriers

5.1 Working from home

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. Since COVID-19 began, have you been able to work from home?

Response scale (slider): None of the time(1), A little bit of the time (2), About half the time (3), Most of the time (4), All of the time (5).

Overall descriptives

##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 923 2.68 1.89      1     2.6   0   1   5     4 0.32    -1.83 0.06
WFH_Chr n percent
None of the time 490 52.7%
A little bit of the time 34 3.7%
About half the time 18 1.9%
Most of the time 40 4.3%
All of the time 341 36.7%
NA 7 0.8%
WFH_Fct n percent
No 490 52.7%
Yes 433 46.6%
NA 7 0.8%

5.2 Internet quality

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. Is your Internet connection good enough that you can work from home or to do video calls with family and friends?

Response scale: No (0), Yes (1).

Overall descriptives

Internet_Fct n percent
No 46 4.9%
Yes 798 85.8%
NA 86 9.2%

5.3 Grocery deliveries

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. Do you order groceries or other necessities for delivery?

Response scale: Never, I can’t afford to (1), Never, it’s not available where I live (2), Never, I prefer to shop in person (3), Never, I have friends or family who do it for me (4), Yes, I do sometimes (5), Yes, I do most of the time (6), Yes, I do all of the time (7).

Overall descriptives

Groceries_Fct n percent
No 693 74.5%
Yes 237 25.5%

6 Beliefs about science and healthcare

6.1 Trust in Healthcare

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each statement. There are no right or wrong answers. Please answer in a way that reflects your own personal beliefs:

  • The Health Care System does its best to make patients health better
  • The Health Care System covers up its mistakes
  • Patients receive high quality medical care from the Health Care System
  • The Health Care System makes too many mistakes
  • The Health Care System puts making money above patients’ needs
  • The Health Care System gives excellent medical care
  • Patients get the same medical treatment from the Health Care System no matter what the patient’s race or ethnicity
  • The Health Care System lies to make money
  • The Health Care System experiments on patients without them knowing

Response scale: Strongly disagree (1), Disagree (2), Somewhat disagree (3), Neither agree nor disagree (4), Somewhat agree (5), Agree (6), Strongly agree (7).

Citation: Shea JA, Micco E, Dean LT, McMurphy S, Schwartz JS, Armstrong K. Development of a Revised Health Care System Distrust Scale. J Gen Intern Med. 2008;23(6):727-732. doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0575-3.

The reliability of the Healthcare trust items was good (shown below), with Cronbach’s Alpha=.89. Items were then averaged to create a Healthcare trust scale.

raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.8885886 0.8932149 0.9101051 0.4817042 8.364602 0.0054844 4.32957 1.071551 0.449045

Summary statistics for the healthcare trust scale are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Healthcare Trust 1 930 4.32957 1.071551 4.222222 4.315113 1.153133 0.7777778 6.444444 5.666667 0.0073459 -0.3368769 0.0351376

The figures below show the distribution of respondents responses to the individual healthcare trust items (Response scale: Strongly disagree (1), Disagree (2), Somewhat disagree (3), Neither agree nor disagree (4), Somewhat agree (5), Agree (6), Strongly agree (7)).

6.2 (Lack of) Belief in science

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each statement. There are no right or wrong answers. Please answer in a way that reflects your own personal beliefs:

  • People trust scientists a lot more than they should
  • People don’t realize just how flawed a lot of scientific research really is
  • A lot of scientific theories are dead wrong
  • Sometimes I think we put too much faith in science
  • Our society places too much emphasis on science
  • I am concerned by the amount of influence that scientists have in society

Response scale (slider): Strongly disagree (1), Disagree (2), Somewhat disagree (3), Neither agree nor disagree (4), Somewhat agree (5), Agree (6), Strongly agree (7).

Citation: Hartman RO, Dieckmann NF, Sprenger AM, Stastny BJ, DeMarree KG. Modeling attitudes toward science: development and validation of the credibility of science scale. Basic Appl Soc Psychol. 2017;39(6):358-371. doi:10.1080/01973533.2017.1372284

The reliability of the (lack of) Belief in science items was good (shown below), with Cronbach’s Alpha=.96. Items were then averaged to create a (lack of) Belief in science scale.

raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.9584184 0.9583375 0.9533686 0.7931205 23.00238 0.0021166 3.265054 1.562983 0.7878162

Summary statistics for the (lack of) Belief in science scale are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Lack of belief in science 1 930 3.265054 1.562983 3.333333 3.1931 1.7297 1 7 6 0.2643233 -0.76854 0.0512522

The figures below show the distribution of respondents responses to the individual belief in science items (Response scale: Strongly disagree (1), Disagree (2), Somewhat disagree (3), Neither agree nor disagree (4), Somewhat agree (5), Agree (6), Strongly agree (7)).

6.3 Belief in conspiracy theories

Measured at wave 3 (March 2021)

Below are things that some people might believe. Please indicate whether you personally think each statement is true or false.

  • The virus causing COVID-19 was purposefully released by a government or person.
  • COVID-19 is actually a biological weapon being tested.
  • The current COVID-19 outbreak is actually a form of population control to reduce the number of people in the infected countries.
  • The COVID- 19 vaccine is a microchip so the government can track you.

Response scale: Definitely false (1), Probably false (2), Unsure (3), Probably true (4),Definitely true (5)

Citation: Piltch-Loeb R, Zikmund-Fisher BJ, Shaffer VA, et al. Cross-Sectional Psychological and Demographic Associations of Zika Knowledge and Conspiracy Beliefs Before and After Local Zika Transmission. Risk Analysis. 2019;39(12):2683-2693. doi:10.1111/risa.13369

The reliability of the belief in conspiracy theories items was good (shown below), with Cronbach’s Alpha=.88. Items were then averaged to create a belief in conspiracy theories scale.

raw_alpha std.alpha G6(smc) average_r S/N ase mean sd median_r
0.8770891 0.8864585 0.8788258 0.6612281 7.807355 0.0061532 1.755108 0.9398848 0.6769861

Summary statistics for the belief in conspiracy theories scale are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
belief in conspiracy theories 1 930 1.755108 0.9398848 1.25 1.603159 0.37065 1 5 4 1.118216 0.314083 0.03082

The figures below show the distribution of respondents responses to the individual belief in conspiracy theories items.

7 Political beliefs

7.1 Conservative beliefs

Measured at wave 2 (Jan 2021)

  • Q1. Here is a 7-point scale on which the political views that people might hold are arranged from extremely liberal (left) to extremely conservative (right). Where would you place yourself on this scale?

Response scale: Extremely liberal (1), Moderately liberal (2), Slightly liberal (3), Neutral (4), Slightly conservative (5), Moderately conservative (6), Extremely conservative (7).

Summary statistics for the conservative beliefs item are shown below.

vars n mean sd median trimmed mad min max range skew kurtosis se
Conservative beliefs 1 928 4.440733 1.764672 5 4.50672 1.4826 1 7 6 -0.3379234 -0.9045239 0.0579282

The figure below shows the distribution of respondents responses to the conservative beliefs item.

7.2 Gov response

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. In general, do you think the FEDERAL government is doing not enough or too much to limit the spread of coronavirus?
  • Q2. In general, do you think your STATE government is doing not enough or too much to limit the spread of coronavirus?

Response scale: Not nearly enough (1), Not enough (2), Just right (3), Too much (4), Way too much (5).

  • Q3. How angry are you about how the FEDERAL government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic?
  • Q4. How angry are you about how your STATE’s government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Response scale: Not at all angry (1), — (2), — (3), — (4), Very angry (5).

Overall descriptives

The reliability of the Gov response items is poor. Cronbach’s Alpha is .38.

## $total
##   raw_alpha  std.alpha   G6(smc)   average_r        S/N       ase     mean
##  -0.3790706 -0.3010816 0.3088346 -0.06140456 -0.2314087 0.0763153 2.680376
##         sd   median_r
##  0.5822356 -0.1309113

If we do not reach the α=0.70 threshold with this procedure, we will select two separate items:

  • Q2. In general, do you think your STATE government is doing not enough or too much to limit the spread of coronavirus?

Response scale: Not nearly enough (1), Not enough (2), Just right (3), Too much (4), Way too much (5).

##    vars   n mean  sd median trimmed  mad min max range skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 2.63 1.1      3    2.57 1.48   1   5     4 0.26    -0.31 0.04

and

  • Q4. How angry are you about how your STATE’s government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Response scale: Not at all angry (1), — (2), — (3), — (4), Very angry (5).

##    vars   n mean   sd median trimmed  mad min max range skew kurtosis   se
## X1    1 930 2.78 1.44      3    2.73 1.48   1   5     4  0.2    -1.26 0.05

7.3 Help from Friends & Family

Measured at wave 1 (Dec 2020)

  • Q1. Do you have friends or family members who have helped you during COVID-19 so you do not have to go out in public?

Response scale: No (0), Yes, I get a little help (1), Yes, I get a lot of help (2).

Overall descriptives

## 
##   0   1   2 
## 660 210  60

FriendFamHelp_Fct n percent
No 660 71.0%
Yes 270 29.0%

8 Analyses

8.1 Correlations

Here are all the correlations we planned to run for each of the three waves December (wave 1), January (wave 2), and March (wave 3). All p values are adjusted using bonferroni correction.

8.1.1 December

Correlations with risk increasing behaviors

Correlations with risk increasing

  r (lower) correlation estimate (r) r (upper) Raw p value Holm adjusted p
Age -0.15 -0.09 -0.03 0.01 0.06
Urban -0.13 -0.07 0 0.04 0.31
Total comorbidities -0.11 -0.05 0.02 0.16 0.78
Veteran -0.07 -0.01 0.06 0.87 1
Health literacy 0.02 0.08 0.14 0.02 0.12
Numeracy -0.04 0.02 0.09 0.45 1
Non-Hispanic White 0 0.06 0.12 0.07 0.42
Worry about getting COVID-19 -0.42 -0.37 -0.31 0 0
COVID-19 risk perceptions -0.38 -0.32 -0.26 0 0
Work from home -0.15 -0.08 -0.02 0.01 0.11
Good internet -0.08 -0.02 0.05 0.66 1
Grocies delivered -0.28 -0.22 -0.16 0 0
Friend/Family help -0.22 -0.15 -0.09 0 0
Trust in healthcare -0.08 -0.02 0.05 0.59 1
(lack of) Belief in science 0.34 0.4 0.45 0 0
Belief in conspiracy theories 0.28 0.34 0.39 0 0
Conservative beliefs 0.27 0.33 0.38 0 0
State too much 0.26 0.32 0.38 0 0
Angry with State 0.06 0.13 0.19 0 0

Correlations with mask wearing

  r (lower) correlation estimate (r) r (upper) Raw p value Holm adjusted p
Age 0.12 0.19 0.25 0 0
Urban -0.01 0.05 0.12 0.1 0.63
Total comorbidities -0.01 0.06 0.12 0.09 0.63
Veteran -0.03 0.03 0.09 0.35 1
Health literacy -0.19 -0.13 -0.07 0 0
Numeracy 0.1 0.17 0.23 0 0
Non-Hispanic White -0.01 0.05 0.12 0.1 0.63
Worry about getting COVID-19 0.16 0.22 0.28 0 0
COVID-19 risk perceptions 0.14 0.2 0.27 0 0
Work from home -0.03 0.03 0.1 0.31 1
Good internet 0.01 0.08 0.15 0.02 0.18
Grocies delivered -0.03 0.03 0.1 0.3 1
Friend/Family help -0.05 0.01 0.08 0.69 1
Trust in healthcare 0.09 0.16 0.22 0 0
(lack of) Belief in science -0.35 -0.29 -0.23 0 0
Belief in conspiracy theories -0.38 -0.32 -0.26 0 0
Conservative beliefs -0.17 -0.11 -0.04 0 0.01
State too much -0.28 -0.21 -0.15 0 0
Angry with State -0.13 -0.06 0 0.06 0.44

8.1.2 January

Correlations with risk increasing behaviors

  r (lower) correlation estimate (r) r (upper) Raw p value Holm adjusted p
Age -0.2 -0.13 -0.07 0 0
Urban -0.12 -0.05 0.01 0.1 0.52
Total comorbidities -0.13 -0.06 0 0.05 0.33
Veteran -0.09 -0.03 0.04 0.43 1
Health literacy 0 0.07 0.13 0.04 0.31
Numeracy -0.09 -0.02 0.04 0.51 1
Non-Hispanic White -0.02 0.04 0.11 0.21 0.85
Worry about getting COVID-19 -0.4 -0.35 -0.29 0 0
COVID-19 risk perceptions -0.37 -0.31 -0.25 0 0
Work from home -0.15 -0.09 -0.02 0.01 0.06
Good internet -0.09 -0.03 0.04 0.43 1
Grocies delivered -0.27 -0.21 -0.15 0 0
Friend/Family help -0.2 -0.13 -0.07 0 0
Trust in healthcare -0.13 -0.07 0 0.05 0.32
(lack of) Belief in science 0.35 0.4 0.46 0 0
Belief in conspiracy theories 0.32 0.37 0.43 0 0
Conservative beliefs 0.24 0.3 0.36 0 0
State too much 0.27 0.33 0.38 0 0
Angry with State 0.05 0.12 0.18 0 0

Correlations with mask wearing

  r (lower) correlation estimate (r) r (upper) Raw p value Holm adjusted p
Age 0.17 0.23 0.29 0 0
Urban 0.05 0.11 0.17 0 0.01
Total comorbidities -0.06 0.01 0.07 0.87 1
Veteran 0.05 0.11 0.17 0 0.01
Health literacy -0.17 -0.1 -0.04 0 0.01
Numeracy 0.02 0.08 0.15 0.01 0.07
Non-Hispanic White -0.06 0 0.07 0.95 1
Worry about getting COVID-19 0.09 0.16 0.22 0 0
COVID-19 risk perceptions 0.08 0.14 0.2 0 0
Work from home -0.07 0 0.06 0.95 1
Good internet 0.05 0.12 0.19 0 0.01
Grocies delivered -0.09 -0.02 0.04 0.49 1
Friend/Family help -0.04 0.03 0.09 0.44 1
Trust in healthcare 0.1 0.16 0.22 0 0
(lack of) Belief in science -0.32 -0.26 -0.2 0 0
Belief in conspiracy theories -0.35 -0.29 -0.23 0 0
Conservative beliefs -0.15 -0.08 -0.02 0.01 0.07
State too much -0.21 -0.15 -0.08 0 0
Angry with State -0.18 -0.11 -0.05 0 0.01

8.1.3 March

Correlations with risk increasing behaviors

  r (lower) correlation estimate (r) r (upper) Raw p value Holm adjusted p
Age -0.11 -0.05 0.01 0.12 0.85
Urban -0.12 -0.06 0 0.07 0.52
Total comorbidities -0.11 -0.04 0.02 0.18 1
Veteran -0.05 0.01 0.07 0.77 1
Health literacy -0.03 0.04 0.1 0.26 1
Numeracy -0.08 -0.01 0.05 0.73 1
Non-Hispanic White 0.01 0.08 0.14 0.02 0.19
Worry about getting COVID-19 -0.41 -0.35 -0.29 0 0
COVID-19 risk perceptions -0.37 -0.32 -0.26 0 0
Work from home -0.16 -0.1 -0.04 0 0.03
Good internet -0.05 0.02 0.08 0.65 1
Grocies delivered -0.25 -0.18 -0.12 0 0
Friend/Family help -0.16 -0.1 -0.03 0 0.03
Trust in healthcare -0.09 -0.03 0.04 0.4 1
(lack of) Belief in science 0.3 0.36 0.41 0 0
Belief in conspiracy theories 0.28 0.34 0.4 0 0
Conservative beliefs 0.24 0.3 0.36 0 0
State too much 0.24 0.3 0.35 0 0
Angry with State 0.08 0.15 0.21 0 0

Correlations with mask wearing

  r (lower) correlation estimate (r) r (upper) Raw p value Holm adjusted p
Age 0.1 0.16 0.23 0 0
Urban 0.06 0.12 0.18 0 0
Total comorbidities -0.03 0.04 0.1 0.24 1
Veteran 0.01 0.08 0.14 0.02 0.12
Health literacy -0.14 -0.07 -0.01 0.02 0.14
Numeracy 0.04 0.11 0.17 0 0.01
Non-Hispanic White -0.04 0.02 0.08 0.55 1
Worry about getting COVID-19 0.16 0.22 0.28 0 0
COVID-19 risk perceptions 0.14 0.2 0.26 0 0
Work from home -0.05 0.02 0.08 0.65 1
Good internet 0.03 0.1 0.16 0 0.04
Grocies delivered -0.05 0.01 0.08 0.7 1
Friend/Family help -0.02 0.04 0.1 0.22 1
Trust in healthcare 0.08 0.15 0.21 0 0
(lack of) Belief in science -0.37 -0.31 -0.25 0 0
Belief in conspiracy theories -0.4 -0.34 -0.28 0 0
Conservative beliefs -0.19 -0.13 -0.06 0 0
State too much -0.25 -0.19 -0.13 0 0
Angry with State -0.18 -0.11 -0.05 0 0.01

8.2 Regression results

Predicting risk increasing behaviors

  Risk increasing: December January March
Predictors Estimates CI p value Estimates CI p value Estimates CI p value
(Intercept) 0.88 0.31 – 1.45 0.002 1.13 0.54 – 1.72 <0.001 0.94 0.25 – 1.63 0.007
Age -0.05 -0.15 – 0.04 0.237 -0.11 -0.20 – -0.01 0.027 -0.02 -0.13 – 0.09 0.722
Urban -0.00 -0.15 – 0.15 0.963 0.06 -0.09 – 0.22 0.430 0.01 -0.17 – 0.19 0.890
Veteran -0.02 -0.14 – 0.11 0.784 -0.01 -0.14 – 0.12 0.860 -0.02 -0.17 – 0.13 0.778
Total comorbidities 0.00 -0.04 – 0.05 0.883 -0.01 -0.05 – 0.04 0.763 -0.00 -0.06 – 0.05 0.849
Health literacy 0.12 0.04 – 0.21 0.005 0.09 -0.00 – 0.18 0.054 0.08 -0.02 – 0.18 0.133
Numeracy 0.06 -0.02 – 0.13 0.122 0.01 -0.06 – 0.09 0.743 0.02 -0.07 – 0.10 0.733
Non-Hispanic White 0.13 -0.01 – 0.26 0.070 0.12 -0.02 – 0.26 0.091 0.18 0.01 – 0.34 0.034
Worry about getting COVID-19 -0.16 -0.25 – -0.07 <0.001 -0.14 -0.24 – -0.05 0.002 -0.16 -0.27 – -0.05 0.003
COVID-19 risk perceptions -0.01 -0.13 – 0.11 0.861 0.02 -0.11 – 0.14 0.791 -0.03 -0.18 – 0.11 0.653
Work from home -0.03 -0.14 – 0.08 0.568 -0.05 -0.16 – 0.07 0.422 -0.09 -0.22 – 0.04 0.185
Good internet 0.01 -0.24 – 0.26 0.951 0.01 -0.25 – 0.27 0.955 0.19 -0.12 – 0.49 0.231
Grocies delivered -0.26 -0.38 – -0.13 <0.001 -0.24 -0.37 – -0.10 <0.001 -0.22 -0.38 – -0.07 0.005
Friend/Family help -0.15 -0.28 – -0.03 0.015 -0.11 -0.24 – 0.02 0.090 -0.08 -0.23 – 0.07 0.325
Trust in healthcare 0.03 -0.02 – 0.09 0.265 0.02 -0.04 – 0.08 0.546 0.03 -0.04 – 0.09 0.470
(lack of) Belief in science 0.10 0.06 – 0.15 <0.001 0.10 0.06 – 0.15 <0.001 0.09 0.04 – 0.15 0.001
Belief in conspiracy theories 0.11 0.04 – 0.18 0.004 0.15 0.08 – 0.23 <0.001 0.17 0.08 – 0.26 <0.001
Conservative beliefs 0.04 0.00 – 0.08 0.044 0.03 -0.01 – 0.07 0.118 0.05 0.01 – 0.10 0.022
State too much 0.15 0.09 – 0.20 <0.001 0.16 0.10 – 0.22 <0.001 0.15 0.08 – 0.22 <0.001
Angry with State 0.09 0.05 – 0.13 <0.001 0.08 0.04 – 0.12 <0.001 0.12 0.07 – 0.17 <0.001
Observations 834 834 834
R2 / R2 adjusted 0.345 / 0.329 0.320 / 0.304 0.297 / 0.281

Predicting mask wearing

  Mask wearing: December January March
Predictors Estimates p value Estimates p value Estimates p value
(Intercept) 5.10
(4.64 – 5.56) 		<0.001 5.26
(4.75 – 5.77) 		<0.001 5.37
(4.86 – 5.88) 		<0.001
Age 0.12
(0.05 – 0.19) 		0.001 0.17
(0.09 – 0.25) 		<0.001 0.07
(-0.02 – 0.15) 		0.113
Urban -0.01
(-0.14 – 0.11) 		0.816 0.14
(0.01 – 0.28) 		0.035 0.17
(0.04 – 0.31) 		0.012
Veteran -0.05
(-0.15 – 0.05) 		0.346 0.04
(-0.07 – 0.15) 		0.506 0.05
(-0.06 – 0.17) 		0.356
Total comorbidities 0.02
(-0.01 – 0.05) 		0.236 -0.02
(-0.06 – 0.02) 		0.244 0.00
(-0.04 – 0.04) 		0.864
Health literacy -0.09
(-0.16 – -0.02) 		0.008 -0.06
(-0.13 – 0.02) 		0.142 -0.05
(-0.13 – 0.03) 		0.234
Numeracy 0.13
(0.07 – 0.19) 		<0.001 0.03
(-0.03 – 0.10) 		0.328 0.06
(-0.01 – 0.12) 		0.088
Non-Hispanic White 0.00
(-0.11 – 0.11) 		0.972 -0.09
(-0.21 – 0.03) 		0.132 0.00
(-0.12 – 0.13) 		0.968
Worry about getting COVID-19 0.09
(0.02 – 0.16) 		0.011 0.07
(-0.01 – 0.15) 		0.082 0.11
(0.03 – 0.19) 		0.007
COVID-19 risk perceptions -0.01
(-0.10 – 0.09) 		0.895 -0.01
(-0.12 – 0.09) 		0.789 -0.02
(-0.13 – 0.09) 		0.667
Work from home 0.01
(-0.08 – 0.10) 		0.872 -0.06
(-0.16 – 0.04) 		0.232 -0.04
(-0.14 – 0.06) 		0.454
Good internet 0.13
(-0.07 – 0.34) 		0.194 0.22
(-0.01 – 0.44) 		0.056 0.18
(-0.05 – 0.41) 		0.120
Grocies delivered -0.03
(-0.13 – 0.07) 		0.570 -0.11
(-0.23 – 0.00) 		0.052 -0.10
(-0.21 – 0.02) 		0.107
Friend/Family help -0.08
(-0.18 – 0.02) 		0.105 -0.04
(-0.15 – 0.07) 		0.508 -0.01
(-0.13 – 0.10) 		0.823
Trust in healthcare 0.04
(-0.01 – 0.08) 		0.097 0.04
(-0.01 – 0.09) 		0.156 0.03
(-0.02 – 0.08) 		0.210
(lack of) Belief in science -0.03
(-0.06 – 0.01) 		0.170 -0.04
(-0.08 – 0.00) 		0.068 -0.04
(-0.09 – -0.00) 		0.041
Belief in conspiracy theories -0.09
(-0.15 – -0.03) 		0.003 -0.14
(-0.20 – -0.07) 		<0.001 -0.17
(-0.24 – -0.10) 		<0.001
Conservative beliefs 0.01
(-0.02 – 0.04) 		0.538 0.03
(-0.01 – 0.06) 		0.108 0.02
(-0.01 – 0.06) 		0.199
State too much -0.10
(-0.15 – -0.06) 		<0.001 -0.07
(-0.12 – -0.02) 		0.005 -0.09
(-0.14 – -0.04) 		0.001
Angry with State -0.04
(-0.07 – -0.01) 		0.011 -0.05
(-0.09 – -0.02) 		0.003 -0.06
(-0.10 – -0.02) 		0.001
Observations 834 834 834
R2 / R2 adjusted 0.209 / 0.191 0.187 / 0.168 0.209 / 0.190

Reasons why not distancing

##      condition Never Often Sometimes emptystring_ Total
##       Rzn_Work   383    52        69          259   763
##    Rzn_KidCare   435    19        50          260   764
##    Rzn_FamCare   401    26        78          259   764
##    Rzn_MedCare   126    46       335          257   764
##       Rzn_Food    41   120       345          258   764
##      Rzn_Pharm   148    60       299          257   764
##        Rzn_Pet   428    32        46          258   764
##       Rzn_Exer   266    70       169          258   763
##      Rzn_Frend   131    52       324          257   764
##      Rzn_Chrch   327    43        99          275   744
##        Rzn_Fam   120    88       299          257   764
##       Rzn_Bord   231    63       212          258   764
##       Rzn_Free   288    66       152          257   763
##  Rzn_Important   379    41        86          258   764
##      Rzn_Other   202    22        37          416   677

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