To tackle the spread of COVID-19, governments worldwide have implemented restrictive public health behavioural measures. Whether and when these measures lead to positive or negative psychological outcomes is still debated. In this study, drawing on a large sample of individuals (N_total = 89,798) from 45 nations, we investigated whether the stringency of public health measures implemented at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March–May 2020 was associated with individuals’ levels of stress and compliance. Moreover, we addressed the question of how these associations may be moderated by the measures’ implementation lag, nations’ tolerance for unequal distributions of power (i.e., power distance), and individuals’ institutional trust. Linear mixed models suggested that slower implementation of less stringent measures was associated with higher stress and lower compliance. Also, rapid implementation of stricter measures was associated with a mild increase in stress. Such effects were especially pronounced in countries with less tolerance for inequality. Albeit significant, the moderating effect of institutional trust was very small. The results suggest that it may be important to consider the measures’ implementation lag when tackling the spread of COVID-19, but findings should be interpreted in relation to the data collection period.

中文翻译：

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铁拳和天鹅绒手套：调查政府在大流行早期阶段对 COVID-19 反应的严格程度、压力和合规性之间的关联

为了应对 COVID-19 的传播，世界各国政府都实施了限制性公共卫生行为措施。这些措施是否以及何时导致积极或消极的心理结果仍然存在争议。在这项研究中，利用大量个体样本（N_总 = 89,798) 来自 45 个国家，我们调查了在 2020 年 3 月至 5 月 COVID-19 大流行开始时实施的公共卫生措施的严格程度是否与个人的压力水平和依从性有关。此外，我们还讨论了这些关联如何通过措施的实施滞后、国家对权力不平等分配的容忍度（即权力距离）和个人的制度信任来缓和。线性混合模型表明，较不严格的措施实施较慢与较高的压力和较低的依从性有关。此外，快速实施更严格的措施与压力的轻微增加有关。这种影响在对不平等容忍度较低的国家尤为明显。虽然意义重大，机构信任的调节作用很小。结果表明，在应对 COVID-19 的传播时考虑措施的实施滞后可能很重要，但应结合数据收集期来解释调查结果。