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What makes Dutch youth comply with preventive COVID‐19 measures? An explorative study
Author(s) -
Koning Naomi,
Hagedoorn Nikki,
Stams GeertJan J. M.,
Assink Mark,
Dam Levi
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22651
Subject(s) - covid-19 , mental health , psychology , coping (psychology) , social isolation , social support , psychological resilience , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , social psychology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , pathology , virology , outbreak
The measures to contain the spread of COVID‐19 are challenging for youth, especially the social isolation measures. These measures are antagonistic to healthy youth development, which requires sufficient social contact with peers and adults. This explorative study examined what factors are associated with adherence to COVID‐19 measures in a sample of Dutch youth ( N = 263; 79.8% female) with ages ranging between 16 and 24 years ( M = 21.1 years; SD = 2.44 years), who completed an online questionnaire about their compliance to measures, resilience, coping strategies, mental health, and availability of a natural mentor. Results showed that youth with fewer depressive symptoms adhered better to measures of social distance. Youth who were less suspicious, more resilient, and those with an active coping strategy or a natural mentor more often complied with COVID‐19 measures. These results can be used to help youth comply with the COVID‐19 measures.