Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Erin C Westgate¹, Nicholas R Buttrick², Yijun Lin¹, Gaelle El Helou¹, Maximilian Agostini³, Jocelyn J Bélanger⁴, Ben Gützkow³, Jannis Kreienkamp³, Georgios Abakoumkin⁵, Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom⁶, Vjollca Ahmedi⁷, Handan Akkas⁸, Carlos A Almenara⁹, Mohsin Atta¹⁰, Sabahat Cigdem Bagci¹¹, Sima Basel¹², Edona Berisha Kida¹³, Allan B I Bernardo¹⁴, Phatthanakit Chobthamkit¹⁵, Hoon-Seok Choi¹⁶, Mioara Cristea¹⁷, Sára Csaba¹⁸, Kaja Damnjanovic¹⁹, Ivan Danyliuk²⁰, Arobindu Dash²¹, Daniela Di Santo²², Karen M Douglas²³, Violeta Enea²⁴, Daiane Gracieli Faller²⁵, Gavan Fitzsimons²⁶, Alexandra Gheorghiu²⁷, Ángel Gómez²⁸, Ali Hamaidia²⁹, Qing Han³⁰, Mai Helmy³¹, Joevarian Hudiyana³², Bertus F Jeronimus³, Ding-Yu Jiang³³, Veljko Jovanović³⁴, Željka Kamenov³⁵, Anna Kende³⁶, Shian-Ling Keng³⁷, Tra Thi Thanh Kieu³⁸, Yasin Koc³, Kamila Kovyazina, Inna Kozytska²⁰, Joshua Krause³, Arie W Kruglanski³⁹, Anton Kurapov²⁰, Maja Kutlaca⁴⁰, Nóra Anna Lantos³⁶, Edward P Lemay³⁹, Cokorda Bagus Jaya Lesmana⁴¹, Winnifred R Louis⁴², Adrian Lueders⁴³, Marta Maj⁴⁴, Najma Iqbal Malik¹⁰, Anton Martinez⁴⁵, Kira O McCabe⁴⁶, Jasmina Mehulić³⁵, Mirra Noor Milla³², Idris Mohammed⁴⁷, Erica Molinario³⁹, Manuel Moyano⁴⁸, Hayat Muhammad⁴⁹, Silvana Mula⁵⁰, Hamdi Muluk³², Solomiia Myroniuk³, Reza Najafi⁵¹, Claudia F Nisa⁴, Boglárka Nyúl³⁶, Paul A O'Keefe³⁷, Jose Javier Olivas Osuna⁵², Evgeny N Osin⁵³, Joonha Park⁵⁴, Gennaro Pica⁵⁵, Antonio Pierro²², Jonas Rees⁵⁶, Anne Margit Reitsema⁵⁷, Elena Resta⁵⁰, Marika Rullo⁵⁸, Michelle K Ryan⁵⁹, Adil Samekin⁶⁰, Pekka Santtila⁶¹, Edyta Sasin⁴, Birga M Schumpe⁶², Heyla A Selim⁶³, Michael Vicente Stanton⁶⁴, Wolfgang Stroebe³, Robbie M Sutton²³, Eleftheria Tseliou⁵, Akira Utsugi⁶⁵, Jolien Anne van Breen⁶⁶, Caspar J Van Lissa⁶⁷, Kees Van Veen⁶⁸, Michelle R vanDellen⁶⁹, Alexandra Vázquez²⁸, Robin Wollast⁴³, Et Al

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
² Department of Psychology, University of Virginia.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Groningen.
⁴ Department of Psychology, New York University, Abu Dhabi.
⁵ Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Thessaly.
⁶ Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia.
⁷ Department of Pedagogy, Pristine University.
⁸ Department of Organizational Behavior, Ankara Science University.
⁹ Faculty of Health Science, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha.
¹¹ Department of Psychology, Sabanci University.
¹² Department of Social Sciences, New York University, Abu Dhabi.
¹³ Faculty of Education, Pristine University.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology, De La Salle University.
¹⁵ Department of Psychology, Thammasat University.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, Sungkyunkwan University.
¹⁷ Department of Psychology, Heriot Watt University.
¹⁸ Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE, Eotvos Lorand University.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Belgrade.
²⁰ Department of Psychology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
²¹ Institute of Management and Organization, Leuphana University of Luneburg.
²² Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University "La Sapienza".
²³ School of Psychology, University of Kent.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.
²⁵ Center for Global Sea Level Change, New York University, Abu Dhabi.
²⁶ Department of Marketing and Psychology, Duke University.
²⁷ Center for European Studies, Faculty of Law, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.
²⁸ Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia.
²⁹ Psychology/Research Unit Human Resources Development, Setif 2 University.
³⁰ School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol.
³¹ Department of Psychology, Menoufia University.
³² Department of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia.
³³ Department of Psychology, National Chung-Cheng University.
³⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Novi Sad.
³⁵ Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb.
³⁶ Department of Social Psychology, ELTE, Eotvos Lorand University.
³⁷ Division of Social Science, Yale-NUS College.
³⁸ Department of Psychology, HCMC University of Education.
³⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Maryland.
⁴⁰ Department of Psychology, Durham University.
⁴¹ Department of Psychiatry, Udayana University.
⁴² School of Psychology, University of Queensland.
⁴³ Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive, Universite Clermont-Auvergne.
⁴⁴ Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University.
⁴⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield.
⁴⁶ Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University.
⁴⁷ Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto.
⁴⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Cordoba.
⁴⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Peshawar.
⁵⁰ Dipartimento dei Processi di Sviluppo e Socializzazione, University "La Sapienza".
⁵¹ Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Rasht Branch.
⁵² Department of Political Science and Administration, National Distance Education University (UNED).
⁵³ Department of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
⁵⁴ Graduate School of Management, NUCB Business School.
⁵⁵ School of Law, University of Camerino.
⁵⁶ Research Institute Social Cohesion, University of Bielefeld.
⁵⁷ Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Groningen.
⁵⁸ Department of Educational, Humanities and Intercultural Communication, University of Siena.
⁵⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Exeter.
⁶⁰ School of Liberal Arts, M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University.
⁶¹ Department of Psychology, New York University Shanghai.
⁶² Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam.
⁶³ Department of Psychology, King Saud University.
⁶⁴ California State University, East Bay.
⁶⁵ Graduate School of Humanities, Nagoya University.
⁶⁶ Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University.
⁶⁷ Department of Methodology & Statistics, Utrecht University.
⁶⁸ University of Groningen.
⁶⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Georgia.

PMID: 36913277
DOI: 10.1037/emo0001118

Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Erin C Westgate et al. Emotion. 2023 Dec.

. 2023 Dec;23(8):2370-2384.

doi: 10.1037/emo0001118. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
² Department of Psychology, University of Virginia.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Groningen.
⁴ Department of Psychology, New York University, Abu Dhabi.
⁵ Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Thessaly.
⁶ Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia.
⁷ Department of Pedagogy, Pristine University.
⁸ Department of Organizational Behavior, Ankara Science University.
⁹ Faculty of Health Science, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha.
¹¹ Department of Psychology, Sabanci University.
¹² Department of Social Sciences, New York University, Abu Dhabi.
¹³ Faculty of Education, Pristine University.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology, De La Salle University.
¹⁵ Department of Psychology, Thammasat University.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, Sungkyunkwan University.
¹⁷ Department of Psychology, Heriot Watt University.
¹⁸ Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE, Eotvos Lorand University.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Belgrade.
²⁰ Department of Psychology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
²¹ Institute of Management and Organization, Leuphana University of Luneburg.
²² Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University "La Sapienza".
²³ School of Psychology, University of Kent.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.
²⁵ Center for Global Sea Level Change, New York University, Abu Dhabi.
²⁶ Department of Marketing and Psychology, Duke University.
²⁷ Center for European Studies, Faculty of Law, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.
²⁸ Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia.
²⁹ Psychology/Research Unit Human Resources Development, Setif 2 University.
³⁰ School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol.
³¹ Department of Psychology, Menoufia University.
³² Department of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia.
³³ Department of Psychology, National Chung-Cheng University.
³⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Novi Sad.
³⁵ Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb.
³⁶ Department of Social Psychology, ELTE, Eotvos Lorand University.
³⁷ Division of Social Science, Yale-NUS College.
³⁸ Department of Psychology, HCMC University of Education.
³⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Maryland.
⁴⁰ Department of Psychology, Durham University.
⁴¹ Department of Psychiatry, Udayana University.
⁴² School of Psychology, University of Queensland.
⁴³ Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive, Universite Clermont-Auvergne.
⁴⁴ Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University.
⁴⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield.
⁴⁶ Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University.
⁴⁷ Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto.
⁴⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Cordoba.
⁴⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Peshawar.
⁵⁰ Dipartimento dei Processi di Sviluppo e Socializzazione, University "La Sapienza".
⁵¹ Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Rasht Branch.
⁵² Department of Political Science and Administration, National Distance Education University (UNED).
⁵³ Department of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
⁵⁴ Graduate School of Management, NUCB Business School.
⁵⁵ School of Law, University of Camerino.
⁵⁶ Research Institute Social Cohesion, University of Bielefeld.
⁵⁷ Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Groningen.
⁵⁸ Department of Educational, Humanities and Intercultural Communication, University of Siena.
⁵⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Exeter.
⁶⁰ School of Liberal Arts, M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University.
⁶¹ Department of Psychology, New York University Shanghai.
⁶² Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam.
⁶³ Department of Psychology, King Saud University.
⁶⁴ California State University, East Bay.
⁶⁵ Graduate School of Humanities, Nagoya University.
⁶⁶ Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University.
⁶⁷ Department of Methodology & Statistics, Utrecht University.
⁶⁸ University of Groningen.
⁶⁹ Department of Psychology, University of Georgia.

PMID: 36913277
DOI: 10.1037/emo0001118

Abstract

Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional "lockdown") may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- American Psychological Association
- Ovid Technologies, Inc.
Medical
- MedlinePlus Health Information

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Affiliations

Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical