Physical Distancing and Hand Washing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of fear, perceived seriousness, and health knowledge

Abstract Background: To reduce the spread of COVID-19, physical distancing and hand washing has been widely promoted. However, more work is needed to understand the predictors of compliance with such health behaviors, such as fear of COVID-19. Methods: The Fear of COVID-19 Scale was administered to a sample of 1,029 Saudi participants recruited for an online survey. Analyses explored associations between fear of COVID-19 with demographic variables, frequency of physical distancing and hand washing, as well as perceived seriousness of COVID-19, and knowledge of recommended health behaviors and government restrictions. Results: Frequency of physical distancing and hand washing was overall very high. Fear of COVID-19 did not predict health behaviors. Knowledge of government restrictions predicted both physical distancing and hand washing, while perceived seriousness of COVID-19 also had a weak association with hand washing.Conclusion: Pandemic-related health behaviors such as physical distancing and hand washing do not appear to be motivated by fear in the present sample from Saudi Arabia. Interventions aimed at increasing compliance with recommended health behaviors thus benefit more from provision of relevant information.