What predicts attitudes about mask wearing?

What explains differences in attitudes towards wearing protective face masks to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus? We investigated potential drivers of attitudes about mask wearing as part of a longitudinal study during the COVID-19 pandemic (N-participants = 711, N-countries = 36), focusing on people’s perceptions and feelings about seeing others in their local communities wearing masks. We found that both stress about COVID-19 and the local incidence rate of COVID-19 predicted these attitudes, but perceived risk of infection did not. We also found that older and politically right-leaning respondents tended to have more negative attitudes towards wearing masks, while those with more concern for future consequences have more positive attitudes. Individuals with a greater vulnerability to COVID-19 as well as those with increased disease-related stress reported inconsistent emotional reactions to seeing people wear masks in public. For example, older participants were likely to either strongly agree or strongly disagree that seeing others wear masks led to feelings of anxiety, and some individuals with high disease-related stress reported greater feelings of anxiety, whereas others reported increased feelings of safety, when seeing people wear masks in public. These findings highlight some of the demographic, psychological, and environmental factors that were associated with respondents’ attitudes toward face masks and will be of use to health policy efforts aiming to increase mask wearing and other protective behaviors.