“Did You Wash Your Hands?” The Socioeconomic Inequalities Preventing Youth From Adopting Protective Behaviors During COVID-19 in South Africa

Abstract

Background. Behavior change has been a critical factor in slowing the spread of COVID-19. In South Africa where infection rates are high, research is needed on the protective behaviors adopted by youth who have low infection rates but are carriers of the virus. Aims. The purpose of this study is to (1) identify the protective behaviors young people adopted during the pandemic and (2) to estimate the probability of positive behavior change by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Methods. The study uses data from the South African National Income Dynamics—Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey 2020. The sample includes 985 (n) youth aged 15–24 years. The outcome of interest is behavior change due to the Coronavirus. Cross-tabulations and an adjusted binary logistic regression model showing odds ratios, are fit to the data. Results. Not all youth adopted protective behaviors. The most prevalent behaviors adopted include washing hands (67.75%) and staying at home (54.02%). Youth in households with six or more members are more likely to change their behaviors (ORs = 1.67 and 1.64, both p-values