Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has changed the daily lives for everyone. Many governments around the world instituted social distancing measures in order to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the general population. Although social distancing has proven to be effective in slowing down the spread of the Covid-19 virus, it has brought an unintended effect of social isolation and decreases in mental health for many people. Loneliness and the lack of social support for individuals likely played a large part in individuals risk assessment when partaking in social interactions at the expense of Covid-19 exposure. However, social isolation does not affect every individual equally. The effect varies depending on living situation, employment, age, and cultural background. This study examined the relationship between age and ethnicity of individuals and their willingness to participate in social interactions at the expense of exposure to Covid-19. METHODS: An online survey with situational questions was distributed through the online platform SurveyMonkey for those who are currently residing in Canada. Chi-square statistical tests were performed to identify any association with the age and ethnicity of the individual and their willingness to participate in social activities with risk of Covid-19 exposure. RESULTS: The survey resulted in 136 responses. Each individual of the 136 respondents answered eight situational questions which resulted 688 data points for those who are aged under 29, 332 data points for those who are aged over 30, 143 data points for those identified as belonging to a collectivistic community, and 869 data points for those who identified as belonging to an individualistic community. The present study found a statistically significant association between age of individuals and their willingness to participate in social activities with risk of Covid-19 (p=0.0004), with younger persons more likely to participate than older individuals but no statistically significant association between ethnicity of individuals and their willingness to participate in social activities with risk of Covid-19 (p=0.1462). CONCLUSION: This study showed that younger persons were more willing to risk exposure to COVID 19 than to be socially isolated. In British Columbia this was seen during the second and third waves of the pandemic where younger persons were more likely to develop COVID 19, and this increased incidence of disease was associated with large social gatherings and workplaces where the workforce is predominantly younger. This suggests that public health messaging for those 30 and under needs to be improved and made more relevant to their lifestyles. With respect to ethnicity and willingness to risk exposure to COVID 19 in order to avoid social isolation, the results did not show any statistically significant associations. It should be noted, however, that our study had a small sample size for those who identified being from a "Collectivistic" Community, and further research is needed to confirm or refute these findings.