Development and validation of the pandemic fatigue scale

Lau Lilleholt (), Ingo Zettler, Cornelia Betsch and Robert Böhm
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Lau Lilleholt: University of Copenhagen
Ingo Zettler: University of Copenhagen
Cornelia Betsch: University of Erfurt

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract The existence and nature of pandemic fatigue–defined as a gradually emerging subjective state of weariness and exhaustion from, and a general demotivation towards, following recommended health-protective behaviors, including keeping oneself informed during a pandemic–has been debated. Herein, we introduce the Pandemic Fatigue Scale and show how pandemic fatigue evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from one panel survey and two repeated cross-sectional surveys in Denmark and Germany (overall N = 34,582). We map the correlates of pandemic fatigue and show that pandemic fatigue is negatively related to people’s self-reported adherence to recommended health-protective behaviors. Manipulating the (de)motivational aspect of pandemic fatigue in a preregistered online experiment (N = 1584), we further show that pandemic fatigue negatively affects people’s intention to adhere to recommended health-protective behaviors. Combined, these findings provide evidence not only for the existence of pandemic fatigue, but also its psychological and behavioral associations.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42063-2

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