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Table 2 Overview of the measurement tools regarding behavioral and social cognitive variables

From: Predicting hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing behaviors among older adults during the covid-19 pandemic: an integrated social cognition model

Name of Variable

Origin

Detailed Information

Behavioral Variables

Hand Washing

Liang et al., 2021 [38]

2 items; 4-point Likert scale from (1) never to (4) always; “During the previous week, how frequently did you wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub (for at least 20 seconds, all surfaces of the hands) … ”, followed by two kinds of situations, i.e., “in the daily life situations (e.g., before preparing food; before eating; after defecation)” or “in disease-related situations (e.g., after blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing; before and after caring for the sick)”

Mask Wearing

Liang et al., 2021 [38]

2 items; 4-point Likert scale from (1) never to (4) always; “During the previous week, I have usually worn a face mask properly … ” followed by two different situations relevant to older adults, i.e., “when visiting public places”, and “caring for a person with suspected COVID-19 infection”

Social Distancing

Liang et al., 2021 [38]

2 items; 4-point Likert scale from (1) never to (4) always; “a) stayed out of crowded places or mass gatherings when going outside of my home, and b) kept space (at least 1 meter) between myself and other people who were coughing or sneezing.”

Social Cognitive Variables

Risk Perception

Duan et al., 2017 [39]

2 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; “How likely do you believe it is for you to become infected with COVID-19 if you do not wash hands frequently/wear face mask /keep a secure social distancing?”, and “Compared to an average person of your age and gender, what is your risk of COVID-19 infection from lack of frequent hand washing/face mask wearing/social distancing?”

Health Knowledge

Li & Liu, 2020 [40]

(At the beginning, clear instructions of the WHO recommendations for each of the three preventive behaviors were provided, e.g. “According to the WHO recommendations, the proper mask use consists of the following aspects, namely, when and how to wear face masks: 1) if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection; 2) if you are coughing or sneezing … ”.)

1 item; 4-point Likert scale from (1) do not know to (4) know all; “Have you known how and in what situations to wash hands/ wear face mask/ keep a secure social distancing in accordance with the WHO recommendations?”

Attitude

Rosen et al., 2009 [41]

4 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; a common stem on three preventive behaviors “For me to wash hands frequently/wear face mask/keep a secure social distancing during the outbreak of COVID-19 would be … ” followed by 4 bipolar sliders: harmful-beneficial, troubling-reassuring, unpleasant-pleasant, and optional-necessary.

Subjective Norm

Chung et al., 2018

2 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; “Most people who are important to me (e.g., my family members, friends, doctors) think that I should wash hands frequently/wear face mask/keep a secure social distancing during the outbreak of COVID-19”, and “Most people who are important to me wash hand frequently/wear face mask/keep a secure social distancing during the outbreak of COVID-19”

Intention

Duan et al., 2018; Liang et al., 2019

2 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; Sample items were “Today and in the near future, I intend to properly wash my hands in daily life situations/wear a face mask when I visit public places/stay out of crowded places or mass gatherings.

Motivational Self-efficacy

Duan et al., 2018; Liang et al., 2019 [39, 38]

2 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; “I feel certain that I can begin to wash my hands/wear my mask/keep social distance frequently even if it is time-consuming”, “I feel certain that I can begin to wash my hands/wear my mask/keep social distance even if it may cause inconvenience to my life”

Volitional Self-efficacy

Duan et al., 2018; Liang et al., 2019 [39, 38]

2 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; “I feel certain that I can maintain washing my hands frequently/wearing face mask/keeping a secure social distancing even if it takes much time for that to be part of my daily routine”. “I feel certain that I can restart to wash my hands frequently/wear face mask/keep a secure social distancing even if I forgot to do it a few times”

Planning

Duan et al., 2018; Liang et al., 2019 [39, 38]

2 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; “I have already made a concrete action plan regarding when, where and how to wash hand /wear face mask/keep social distancing” “I have made a coping plan to maintain frequent hand washing/mask wearing/social distancing if I am confronted with some barriers”

Action Control

Zhang et al., 2020 [14]

3 items; VAS ranging from 0 = lowest to 100 = highest; “I consistently monitor how and in what situations I wash my hands/wear my mask/keep social distance”, “I continuously make sure that I wash my hands/wear my mask/keep social distance properly”, and “I really try hard to wash my hands/wear my mask/keep social distance in necessary situations”