The Self-Appraisal of Masking Instrument

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Abstract

We explore mask-wearing behavior during the coronavirus pandemic using the Self-Appraisal of Masking Instrument (SAMI). We situate this survey-based instrument within a theory in which the decision to mask reflects social identity, an associated identity standard, and appraisals that generate feelings about oneself. Analyses of SAMI’s empirical properties reveal that masking-specific emotional reactions are distinct from emotional reports related to current events and politics (discriminant validity). We also uncover evidence of predictive validity: expressed feelings about masking predict future voting more than 6 months later. We recommend SAMI to researchers interested in studying mask resistance in an increasingly polarized political climate, and the intuition behind SAMI could prove useful in other research contexts in which health decisions reflect a conscious comparison to standards held by those who share an identity or will otherwise pass judgment.

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The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42409-022-00032-3.

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To mask or not to mask: Modeling the potential for face mask use by the general public to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic

Steffen Eikenberry, Marina Mancuso, Enahoro Iboi … (2020)

Face mask use by the general public for limiting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is controversial, though increasingly recommended, and the potential of this intervention is not well understood. We develop a compartmental model for assessing the community-wide impact of mask use by the general, asymptomatic public, a portion of which may be asymptomatically infectious. Model simulations, using data relevant to COVID-19 dynamics in the US states of New York and Washington, suggest that broad adoption of even relatively ineffective face masks may meaningfully reduce community transmission of COVID-19 and decrease peak hospitalizations and deaths. Moreover, mask use decreases the effective transmission rate in nearly linear proportion to the product of mask effectiveness (as a fraction of potentially infectious contacts blocked) and coverage rate (as a fraction of the general population), while the impact on epidemiologic outcomes (death, hospitalizations) is highly nonlinear, indicating masks could synergize with other non-pharmaceutical measures. Notably, masks are found to be useful with respect to both preventing illness in healthy persons and preventing asymptomatic transmission. Hypothetical mask adoption scenarios, for Washington and New York state, suggest that immediate near universal (80%) adoption of moderately (50%) effective masks could prevent on the order of 17–45% of projected deaths over two months in New York, while decreasing the peak daily death rate by 34–58%, absent other changes in epidemic dynamics. Even very weak masks (20% effective) can still be useful if the underlying transmission rate is relatively low or decreasing: In Washington, where baseline transmission is much less intense, 80% adoption of such masks could reduce mortality by 24–65% (and peak deaths 15–69%), compared to 2–9% mortality reduction in New York (peak death reduction 9–18%). Our results suggest use of face masks by the general public is potentially of high value in curtailing community transmission and the burden of the pandemic. The community-wide benefits are likely to be greatest when face masks are used in conjunction with other non-pharmaceutical practices (such as social-distancing), and when adoption is nearly universal (nation-wide) and compliance is high.

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Who is wearing a mask? Gender-, age-, and location-related differences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Michael Haischer, Rachel Beilfuss, Meggie Hart … (2020)

Masks are an effective tool in combatting the spread of COVID-19, but some people still resist wearing them and mask-wearing behavior has not been experimentally studied in the United States. To understand the demographics of mask wearers and resistors, and the impact of mandates on mask-wearing behavior, we observed shoppers (n = 9935) entering retail stores during periods of June, July, and August 2020. Approximately 41% of the June sample wore a mask. At that time, the odds of an individual wearing a mask increased significantly with age and was also 1.5x greater for females than males. Additionally, the odds of observing a mask on an urban or suburban shopper were ~4x that for rural areas. Mask mandates enacted in late July and August increased mask-wearing compliance to over 90% in all groups, but a small percentage of resistors remained. Thus, gender, age, and location factor into whether shoppers in the United States wear a mask or face covering voluntarily. Additionally, mask mandates are necessary to increase mask wearing among the public to a level required to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

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Anxiety and Safety Behavior Usage During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Prospective Role of Contamination Fear

Kelly Knowles, Bunmi Olatunji (2020)

Highlights • First prospective study of contamination fear during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Obsessive-compulsive washing symptoms have increased during COVID-19. • In March 2020, coronavirus-related anxiety was higher than flu-related anxiety. • Contamination fear did not predict COVID-19 anxiety or flu-related anxiety. • Contamination fear predicted safety behaviors in response to both COVID-19 and flu.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Ray Block Jr:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2062-6417

rblock@psu.edu

Eric Plutzer: plutzer@psu.edu

Journal

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Meas Instrum Soc Sci

Title: Measurement Instruments for the Social Sciences

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 2523-8930

Publication date (Electronic): 21 March 2022

Publication date PMC-release: 21 March 2022

Publication date (Print): 2022

Volume: 4

Issue: 1

Electronic Location Identifier: 4

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.29857.31, ISNI 0000 0001 2097 4281, Departments of Political Science and African American Studies, , The Pennsylvania State University, ; State College, USA

[2 ]GRID grid.29857.31, ISNI 0000 0001 2097 4281, Departments of Political Science and Sociology, , The Pennsylvania State University, ; State College, USA

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Ray Block Jr http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2062-6417

Article

Publisher ID: 32

DOI: 10.1186/s42409-022-00032-3

PMC ID: 8935613

SO-VID: e51961dd-7cbd-4a43-a2fb-43137226532a

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Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Date received : 10 June 2021

Date accepted : 24 January 2022

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The Self-Appraisal of Masking Instrument

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Most cited references 32

To mask or not to mask: Modeling the potential for face mask use by the general public to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic

Who is wearing a mask? Gender-, age-, and location-related differences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Anxiety and Safety Behavior Usage During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Prospective Role of Contamination Fear

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