Considering the Role of Behavioural Fatigue in the COVID-19 Lockdown Debates in Great Britain: A Retrospective Analysis of a National Survey Assessing the Relationships between Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behaviour
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the term "behavioural fatigue" became the centre of policy debates in Great Britain. These debates involved deciding when to go into lockdown and whether behavioural interventions could be effective. Behavioural interventions can only succeed where people's Capabilities, Opportunities, and Motivations to perform target behaviours are supported. Our retrospective data analyses examine the relationships between people's Capabilities, Opportunities, Motivations, and Behaviours, i.e., adherence to lockdown guidelines. Our cross-sectional analyses include 17,962 unique participants in Great Britain who completed a survey over the initial 30 days of the first lockdown (April 2020). We examine trends in responses to each scale and then the relationships between the scales using Granger's causality test with tests for stationarity and cointegration. A mixture of increasing and decreasing trends was identified for Capabilities and Opportunities. Decreasing trends were identified for Motivation and Behaviour. Granger's causality tests found that Capability forecasts Opportunity and Behaviour and that Motivation forecasts Opportunity. The discussion reiterates that to realise and maintain Behaviour changes, policies surrounding people's Capabilities, Opportunities, and Motivations must continue to support target behaviours.
Source: Behavioral Sciences
DOI: 10.3390/bs14090852
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,501
Funders: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Maudsley Charity, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Department of Health and Social Care, Guy's and St Thomas' Charity, University of East Anglia, University of Southampton, King's College London, National University of Singapore, King's Health Partners, Universidad de León, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, King's College London, University of London, National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration South London
Award: G8255340308
OpenAlex ID: W4402824845