Relational mobility predicts a faster spread of COVID-19: A 39 country study

• DOI: 10.31124/advance.12841595.v2
• Publication Date: 2020-08-25T20:20:35Z
• Authors: Cristina Salvador; Martha K. Berg; Qinggang Yu; Alvaro San Martin; Shinobu Kitayama
• Keywords: Cross-Cultural Comparison; Internationality; Pneumonia, Viral; Open materials; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Factores socioculturales; Models, Biological; Betacoronavirus; Models; Humans; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Viral; Social Behavior; Pandemics; Materiales abiertos; bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Psychology; SARS-CoV-2; Open data; Vaccination; 05 social sciences; Relational mobility; COVID-19; Pneumonia; PsyArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Cultural Psychology|Cross-cultural Psychology; Datos abiertos; PsyArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Cultural Psychology; Biological; 300; 3. Good health; Cultural Psychology; PsyArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences; Movilidad relacional; bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences; BCG Vaccine; Public Health; Sociocultural factors; Coronavirus Infections; Cross-cultural Psychology

It has become increasingly clear that COVID-19 transmits between individuals. stands to reason the spread of virus depends on sociocultural ecologies facilitate or inhibit social contact. In particular, community-level tendency engage with strangers and freely choose friends, called relational mobility (RM), entails increased opportunities interact a larger more variable range others. may therefore be associated faster infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Here, we tested this possibility by analyzing growth curves confirmed cases deaths in first 30 days outbreaks 39 countries. We found was significantly accelerated as function country-wise measure RM. This relationship robust either without set control variables, demographic reporting bias, testing availability, cultural dimensions individualism government efficiency. Policy implications are discussed.<div><br></div><div>Accepted for fast-track publication <i>Psychological Science</i><br></div>