Identifying Predictive Factors in Compliance with the COVID-19 Containment Measures: A Mediation Analysis

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has led governments to implement some containment measures to flatten the curve of the diffusion of the virus. The current study aims to investigate individual differences in compliance with these restrictive behaviors. In a sample of Italian individuals (N = 300), we examined whether sociodemographic factors, personality traits, fatalism, and fear could be considered as possible predictors. We performed a series of standard multiple regression analyses and proposed a mediation analysis to test the associations among variables. Overall, our results suggested that men are less likely to engage in preventive behaviors, younger individuals are more reluctant to adhere to social distancing mandates, and fear has a functional role in predicting positive outcomes. The results of our analyses are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.