Table 3.

Beliefs Regarding Efficacy of, and Willingness to Follow, CDC Recommendations

Social Isolation Belief vs Follow
n = 5,943 ICC (95% CI) 0.68 (0.65, 0.71)Will You Follow Social Isolation, Even if You Have No Symptoms (Avoiding Large Crowds)?
MissingCertainly NotProbably NotMaybeProbably YesMost CertainlyTotal
Do you think that social isolation, even if you have no symptoms (avoiding large crowds), will decrease the spread of COVID-19 in your community?Missing5 (0.1)1 (0.0)1 (0.0)0 (0.0)8 (0.1)58 (1.0)73 (1.2)
Certainly not0 (0.0)7 (0.1)3 (0.1)2 (0.0)2 (0.0)4 (0.1)18 (0.3)
Probably not0 (0.0)8 (0.1)12 (0.2)21 (0.4)15 (0.3)9 (0.2)65 (1.1)
Maybe4 (0.1)7 (0.1)18 (0.3)54 (0.9)121 (2.0)83 (1.4)287 (4.8)
Probably yes11 (0.2)6 (0.1)4 (0.1)45 (0.8)478 (8.0)773 (13.0)1,317 (22.1)
Most certainly35 (0.6)10 (0.2)7 (0.1)21 (0.4)238 (4.0)3,877 (65.2)4,188 (70.4)
Total55 (0.9)39 (0.7)45 (0.8)143 (2.4)862 (14.5)4,804 (80.8)5,948
Related Qualitative Themes & Quotes
Theme 1. There are minimal or no barriers to following CDC recommendations.
    “There is nothing that prevents me from following CDC recommendations.”
    “I am being very compliant with social distancing. I am not allowing my kids to ‘hang out’ with friends. I am listening to CDC and local authorities.”
Theme 2. Life or medical obligations require occasional disregard for CDC recommendations.
    “I must work to provide for my family.”
    “I have a family of 5 and unfortunately do need to go to the grocery store at least once a week because I can’t keep more than a week’s worth of food stored properly at my house.”
    “The only time I have left my house is for OBGYN appointments.”
    “I’m not socially isolating because I’m also concerned about the long-term mental health effects of loneliness.”
  • CDC = Centers for Disease Prevention and Control; ICC = intraclass correlation coefficient; OBGYN = obstetrician-gynecologist.

  • Note: Reported frequency (percent). The sample size reported for the ICC excludes only those respondents missing values for both measures.