Network-Exposure Severity and Self-Protective Behaviors: The Case of COVID-19

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To clarify whether awareness of the extent and severity of exposure to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the social networks of older adults is related to the engagement by the latter in self-protective behaviors. The inquiry is guided by the Health Belief Model and by concepts from the domain of social networks. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used, including the SHARE COVID-19 Survey executed in the summer of 2020. The study sample numbered 33,053 persons aged 50 and older in 26 countries. We regressed a logged count of self-protective behaviors on network-exposure severity, controlling for sociodemographic background, country, personality traits, and self-exposure severity. Age and network-exposure interaction terms were examined, as were “close family” and “other” network ties. RESULTS: Network-exposure severity was positively associated with the extent of engagement in self-protective behaviors among older adults, but mainly among the oldest group, aged 70 and older. Awareness of exposure severity in “close family” and “other” networks were similarly associated with self-protection. Respondents from countries with the lowest rates of COVID-19 infection at the time (Latvia, Finland, and Denmark) engaged in fewer self-protective behaviors, while those from countries with high infection rates (Spain, Italy, and Portugal) self-protected to a greater degree. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The study findings point to the role of the social network, even if indirect, in promoting self-protective behaviors among the oldest segment of society. Policymakers should collaborate with the social networks of older adults in order to promote the adoption of self-protective behaviors. Such intervention might help to reduce the threat of infection among the most vulnerable age group.