Economic insecurity and compliance with the COVID-19 restrictions

Abstract

The present research investigates economic insecurity as one potential determinant of citizens' compliance with restrictive policies implemented to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Two pre-registered studies (NStudy 1 = 305; NStudy 2 = 175) were conducted in France during the second and the third wave of the pandemic to test correlational (Study 1) and causal (Study 2) links between economic insecurity, perceived constraints, and transgressions (self-reported, Study 1; intended, Study 2). We hypothesized that the effect of economic insecurity is particularly strong for restrictions involving social affiliations (e.g., not meeting with friends and families). Results indicated that economic insecurity indeed increases perceived constraints and the tendency to transgress but for all types of restrictions (involving social affiliation or not). We propose that economic insecurity poses a threat to individuals' self-agency, which triggers psychological reactance to any form of restrictions on individual freedom.