IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i14p8091-d597677.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Assessment of Social Distancing Obedience Behavior during the COVID-19 Post-Epidemic Period in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Jinghan Yuan

    (School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China)

  • Hansong Zou

    (School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China)

  • Kefan Xie

    (School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China)

  • Maxim A. Dulebenets

    (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Florida A & M University-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) College of Engineering, Tallahassee, FL 32310-6046, USA)

Abstract

Social distancing plays a critical role in reducing the disease diffusion risk during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic period. In order to explore the social distancing obedience behavior, a comprehensive survey was conducted in this study by collecting data from 1064 Chinese residents in January 2021 by means of a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical linear regression (HLR) analyses were employed to investigate the research hypotheses considered, testing the three influencing factors of social distancing obedience behavior: public guidance, risk perception, and regulation punishment. The reliability and validity of the measurements are demonstrated. The outcomes from the conducted analyses show that the public guidance significantly affects risk perception of individuals, while risk perception imposes a positive impact on social distancing obedience behavior. Moreover, risk perception serves a mediating role in the relationship between the public guidance and social distancing obedience behavior. In addition, regulation punishment positively predicts social distancing obedience behavior and could even have a greater effect by enhancing risk perception. Hence, this study suggests that the relevant authorities and agencies implement strong social distancing policies during the COVID-19 post-pandemic period from the perspective of promoting the public guidance, risk perception, and regulation punishment.

Suggested Citation

  • Jinghan Yuan & Hansong Zou & Kefan Xie & Maxim A. Dulebenets, 2021. "An Assessment of Social Distancing Obedience Behavior during the COVID-19 Post-Epidemic Period in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:8091-:d:597677
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/8091/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/8091/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Krzysztof Herman & Łukasz Drozda, 2021. "Green Infrastructure in the Time of Social Distancing: Urban Policy and the Tactical Pandemic Urbanism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Piotr Tarka, 2018. "An overview of structural equation modeling: its beginnings, historical development, usefulness and controversies in the social sciences," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 313-354, January.
    3. Okuonghae, D. & Omame, A., 2020. "Analysis of a mathematical model for COVID-19 population dynamics in Lagos, Nigeria," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Farboodi, Maryam & Jarosch, Gregor & Shimer, Robert, 2021. "Internal and external effects of social distancing in a pandemic," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Gonzalo Castex & Evgenia Dechter & Miguel Lorca, 2021. "COVID-19: The impact of social distancing policies, cross-country analysis," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 135-159, April.
    6. Kefan Xie & Benbu Liang & Yu Song & Xueqin Dong, 2019. "Analysis of Walking-Edge Effect in Train Station Evacuation Scenarios: A Sustainable Transportation Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-16, December.
    7. MOHAJAN, Haradhan Kumar, 2017. "Two Criteria For Good Measurements In Research: Validity And Reliability," Annals of Spiru Haret University, Economic Series, Universitatea Spiru Haret, vol. 17(4), pages 59-82.
    8. Georges Dionne & Denise Desjardins & Martin Lebeau & Stéphane Messier & André Dascal, 2018. "Health Care Workers’ Risk Perceptions and Willingness to Report for Work during an Influenza Pandemic," Risks, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Syon P. Bhanot & Daniel J. Hopkins, 2020. "Partisan polarization and resistance to elite messages: Results from survey experiments on social distancing," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 3(2).
    10. Toan Luu Duc Huynh, 2020. "The COVID-19 risk perception: A survey on socioeconomics and media attention," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(1), pages 758-764.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ching-Pong Poo, Mark & Wang, Tianni & Yang, Zaili, 2024. "Global food supply chain resilience assessment: A case in the United Kingdom," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    2. Pham Quang Huy & Vu Kien Phuc, 2023. "Big data in relation with business intelligence capabilities and e-commerce during COVID-19 pandemic in accountant’s perspective," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Melinda Timea Fülöp & József Udvaros & Ákos Gubán & Ágnes Sándor, 2022. "Development of Computational Thinking Using Microcontrollers Integrated into OOP (Object-Oriented Programming)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Hayati Sari Hasibuan & Mari Mulyani, 2022. "Transit-Oriented Development: Towards Achieving Sustainable Transport and Urban Development in Jakarta Metropolitan, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Borowska-Stefańska, Marta & Dulebenets, Maxim A. & Horňák, Marcel & Kowalski, Michał & Kozłowski, Dominik & Turoboś, Filip & Wiśniewski, Szymon, 2023. "Assessing the effects of Sunday shopping restrictions on urban mobility patterns in Poland," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael König & Adalbert Winkler, 2021. "COVID-19: Lockdowns, Fatality Rates and GDP Growth," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 56(1), pages 32-39, January.
    2. Kefan Xie & Benbu Liang & Maxim A. Dulebenets & Yanlan Mei, 2020. "The Impact of Risk Perception on Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2021. "Cradle to Cradle is a Sustainable Economic Policy for the Better Future," MPRA Paper 111334, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Oct 2021.
    4. Ichino, Andrea & Favero, Carlo A. & Rustichini, Aldo, 2020. "Restarting the economy while saving lives under Covid-19," CEPR Discussion Papers 14664, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Fathey Mohammed & Nabil Hasan Al-Kumaim & Ahmed Ibrahim Alzahrani & Yousef Fazea, 2023. "The Impact of Social Media Shared Health Content on Protective Behavior against COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Goodkin-Gold, Matthew & Kremer, Michael & Snyder, Christopher M. & Williams, Heidi, 2022. "Optimal vaccine subsidies for endemic diseases," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Houštecká, Anna & Koh, Dongya & Santaeulàlia-Llopis, Raül, 2021. "Contagion at work: Occupations, industries and human contact," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    8. Xiao Chen & Hanwei Huang & Jiandong Ju & Ruoyan Sun & Jialiang Zhang, 2022. "Endogenous cross-region human mobility and pandemics," CEP Discussion Papers dp1860, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    9. Acedo, Francisco J. & Coviello, Nicole & Agustí, María, 2021. "Caution ahead! The long-term effects of initial export intensity and geographic dispersion on INV development," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(6).
    10. Raza, Syed Ali & Masood, Amna & Benkraiem, Ramzi & Urom, Christian, 2023. "Forecasting the volatility of precious metals prices with global economic policy uncertainty in pre and during the COVID-19 period: Novel evidence from the GARCH-MIDAS approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    11. Shami, Labib & Lazebnik, Teddy, 2022. "Economic aspects of the detection of new strains in a multi-strain epidemiological–mathematical model," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 165(P2).
    12. Gopal K. Basak & Chandramauli Chakraborty & Pranab Kumar Das, 2021. "Optimal Lockdown Strategy in a Pandemic: An Exploratory Analysis for Covid-19," Papers 2109.02512, arXiv.org.
    13. Basu Parantap & Bell Clive & Edwards Terence Huw, 2022. "COVID Social Distancing and the Poor: An Analysis of the Evidence for England," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 22(1), pages 211-240, January.
    14. Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska & Anna Kłoczko-Gajewska & Piotr Sulewski, 2019. "Between the Social and Economic Dimensions of Sustainability in Rural Areas—In Search of Farmers’ Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, December.
    15. Mohamed M. Mousa & Fahad Alsharari, 2021. "A Comparative Numerical Study and Stability Analysis for a Fractional-Order SIR Model of Childhood Diseases," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(22), pages 1-12, November.
    16. Lucia Freira & Marco Sartorio & Cynthia Boruchowicz & Florencia Lopez Boo & Joaquin Navajas, 2021. "The interplay between partisanship, forecasted COVID-19 deaths, and support for preventive policies," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Nam-gun Kim & Hyeri Jang & Seungkeun Noh & Ju-hee Hong & Jongsoon Jung & Jinho Shin & Yongseung Shin & Jongseong Kim, 2022. "Analyzing the Effect of Social Distancing Policies on Traffic at Sinchon Station, South Korea, during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 and 2021," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.
    18. Beppu, Shotaro & Fujii, Daisuke & Kubota, Hiroyuki & Machi, Kohei & Maeda, Yuta & Nakata, Taisuke & Shibuya, Haruki, 2023. "Cross-regional heterogeneity in health and economic outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    19. Bisin, Alberto & Moro, Andrea, 2022. "Spatial‐SIR with network structure and behavior: Lockdown rules and the Lucas critique," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 370-388.
    20. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2023. "Glaserian Grounded Theory and Straussian Grounded Theory: Two Standard Qualitative Research Approaches in Social Science," MPRA Paper 117017, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Feb 2023.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:8091-:d:597677. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.