Behavioral responses such as social distancing are important in the fight to contain COVID-19 transmission, yet motivating such responses is an overwhelming, resource-intensive task. Using multi-wave data from 23,735 US adults collected in May/September 2020, and January 2021, this study examines how financial preparedness in the form of savings influences the relationship predicted by the Health Belief Model between the degree of concern for COVID-19 and engagement in social distancing. Findings indicate that general concern for COVID-19 is related to the decision to engage in social distancing for individuals who have less saved. Curiously, higher levels of financial preparedness are associated with a lower likelihood of social distancing at least among people who had been laid off during the pandemic. The findings suggest a tradeoff between protecting one's standard of living and their health. Government and public health agencies should consider financial preparedness in the design of public health communications.

中文翻译：

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我是否存够了社交距离？家庭财务准备在公共卫生应对中的作用

社交距离等行为反应在遏制 COVID-19 传播的斗争中很重要，但激发这种反应是一项压倒性的资源密集型任务。本研究使用 2020 年 5 月/9 月和 2021 年 1 月收集的来自 23,735 名美国成年人的多波数据，检验了储蓄形式的财务准备如何影响健康信念模型预测的对 COVID-19 的关注程度与参与社会疏离。调查结果表明，对 COVID-19 的普遍关注与决定为储蓄较少的个人保持社交距离有关。奇怪的是，至少在大流行期间被解雇的人中，较高水平的财务准备与较低的社会距离可能性有关。研究结果表明保护一个人的生活水平和他们的健康之间的权衡。政府和公共卫生机构在设计公共卫生通讯时应考虑财务准备。