Factors Associated With Adherence to Hygiene-related Behaviors and Viral Mitigation Protocols During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hypothesis/Research questions Hypothesis 1: Risk perception, altruism and governmental trust
will significantly be associated with both adherence and hygiene-related behavior, with
increased risk perception, altruism, and governmental trust associated with higher rates of
adherence and hygiene-related behavior. The personality traits conscientiousness and
agreeableness will significantly be associated with both adherence and hygiene related
behavior, with increased conscientiousness, and agreeableness associated with higher rates of
adherence and hygiene-related behavior. Furthermore, beliefs about pandemic protocol efficacy
and beliefs about collective mitigation behavior (i.e., "it is only useful to follow
transmission protocols if everyone else does") will be associated with adherence to viral
mitigation protocols and hygiene-related behaviors.

Research Question 1: Is there a difference between the use of various platforms to obtain
information about COVID with regards to adherence to viral mitigation protocols and
hygiene-related behaviors? Research Question 2: To what extend are different sources of
obtaining information associated with adherence to hygiene-related behavior and adherence to
viral mitigation protocols? Research Question 3: To what extent are different personality
traits (measured with the Short Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10)) associated with adherence to
viral mitigation protocols and hygiene-related behaviors?

Statistical analyses:

Two hierarchical regression analyses will be conducted: one with adherence to hygiene-related
behavior as the dependent variable, and the second with adherence to pandemic protocols as
the dependent variable. In both hierarchical regression analysis, the first step will include
the demographic characteristics (control variables) age, gender, and education. The second
step will include risk perception, altruism, governmental trust, personality traits (i.e.,
neuroticism, extroversion-introversion, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness), beliefs
about pandemic protocol efficacy and beliefs about collective mitigation behavior.

Part correlations will be reported, presenting the effect size of the hypothesized predictors
on adherence, revealing the most important variables related to adherence behavior.
Multicollinearity and other statistical assumptions will be checked using examined.
Multicollinearity will be assessed with common guidelines (VIF < 5 and Tolerance > 0.2;
Hocking, 2003; O'Brian, 2007).

All analyses and questions addressed in the forthcoming paper that are not pre-specified in
this pre-registered protocol will be defined as exploratory.

Sensitivity analyses and random subsample replications of the main findings will be conducted
following selection of a random sample of participants that ensure a proportionate ratio
between the collected sample and the adult population of Norway.

Possible transformations:

All variables will be assessed in their original and validated format as is recommended
practice, as long as this is possible with regards to statistical assumptions underlying the
pre-defined analyses (i.e., multiple regression). However, if this is not possible with
regards to the statistical assumptions behind the analyses, transformation (e.g., square root
or log-transformations) may be needed to apply interval-based methods. The investigators will
examine the degree of skewness and evaluate this against the assumptions and analyses before
choosing the appropriate analysis. The pre-registered and planned analyses include multiple
regression as long as the assumptions underlying these analyses are met. Alternatively, a
non-parametric test will be used.

Inference criteria Given the large sample size in this study, the investigators pre-define
their significance level: p < 0.01 to determine significance.

Sample size and power calculation:

The present study is part of a larger project with the first part aiming to investigate
predictors of adherence through regression analyses, and the second part aiming to examine
directional relations amongst specific symptoms and their centrality through complex systems
approaches (i.e., network analysis). Consequently, power calculations are based on power
required for network analyses. Following power analysis guidelines by Fried & Cramer (2017),
it is recommended that the number of participants are three times larger than the number of
estimated parameters. However, more conservative recommendations by Roscoe (1975) for
multivariate research, recommends sample size that is ten times larger than the number of
estimated parameters. Thus, following these two approaches respectively, between 1395 to 4650
participants are required. Data will be collected for three weeks, and participants are based
on a representative and random sample of Norwegian adults, randomly selected and provided
equal opportunity to partake in the study, providing digital consent.

Missing data:

The TSD system (Services for Sensitive Data), a platform used in Norway to store
person-sensitive data verifies participants officially through a kind of national ID number
to give them full right to withdraw their data at any time, following the European GDPR
(General Data Protection Regulation) laws. Accordingly, participants are allowed to withdraw
their own data at any time. The survey includes mandatory fields of response. Participation
is voluntarily, and withdrawal of provided data is possible at any moment. The investigators
do not expect participants to withdraw their data and thus expect no missing data. However,
if participants do withdraw their data, The investigators will conduct state-of-art missing
data analyses and investigate whether data is missing at random.

Variables:

Outcome measures: as described in primary outcome measures section: 1) adherence to viral
mitigation protocols; and 2) adherence to WHO-recommended hygiene-related behaviors.

Predictors: All 5 Big Five Personality Traits are measured by the validated Brief Version of
the Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI-10). Risk perception is measured with a three-item
measure adapted for the COVID-19 pandemic, querying about the perceived risk of the COVID-19
virus for 1) oneself; 2) other individuals; and 3) society at large. Governmental trust is
measured with a single item adapted for the COVID-19 pandemic, querying about the whether one
trusts in the governments judgements and decisions concerning handling of the pandemic.
Altruism is measured with a single item adapted for the pandemic, querying about personal
importance given to helping society and peers. Beliefs about protocol efficacy and beliefs
about collective mitigation behavior are both measured with single items adapted for the
COVID-19 pandemic, querying about beliefs concerning the efficacy of initiated protocols
against the pandemic and beliefs about perceived usefulness of adhering when a proportion of
others do not.