ArticlePloS one2022
'Us-Versus-Them': Othering in COVID-19 public health behavior compliance.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Using narratives to correct politically charged health misinformation and address affective belief echoes.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Contested science communication: Representations of scientists and their science in newspaper articles and the associated comment sections.Public understanding of science (Bristol, England) · 2025Article
- Compassionate Othering: the construction of refugee patients in medical students' narratives - a qualitative study using story completion.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people who use substances: a case study in Tehran.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2024Article
- Political party affiliation, social identity cues, and attitudes about protective mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.PloS one · 2024Article
- A mixed methods study exploring requests for unproven COVID therapies such as ivermectin and healthcare distrust in the rural South.Preventive medicine reports · 2023Article
- Parent and Child Anxiety Evaluated During an Early Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of patient-centered research and reviews · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWe explored public perceptions about the COVID-19 pandemic to learn how those attitudes may affect compliance with health behaviors.
methodsParticipants were Central Pennsylvania adults from diverse backgrounds purposively sampled (based on race, gender, educational attainment, and healthcare worker status) who responded to a mixed methods survey, completed between March 25-31, 2020. Four open-ended questions were analyzed, including: "What worries you most about the COVID-19 pandemic?" We applied a pragmatic, inductive coding process to conduct a qualitative, descriptive content analysis of responses.
resultsOf the 5,948 respondents, 538 were sampled for this qualitative analysis. Participants were 58% female, 56% with ≥ bachelor's degree, and 50% from minority racial backgrounds. Qualitative descriptive analysis revealed four themes related to respondents' health and societal concerns: lack of faith in others; fears of illness or death; frustration at perceived slow societal response; and a desire for transparency in communicating local COVID-19 information. An "us-versus-them" subtext emerged; participants attributed non-compliance with COVID-19 behaviors to other groups, setting themselves apart from those Others.
conclusionOur study uncovered Othering undertones in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, occurring between groups of like-minded individuals with behavioral differences in 'compliance' versus 'non-compliance' with public health recommendations. Addressing the 'us-versus-them' mentality may be important for boosting compliance with recommended health behaviors.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.