A qualitative explorationof socio-psychological factors and social media influence on health protective behaviours during covid-19 pandemic among Indian young adults

Background: With COVID-19 cases on the rise again in India, the practice of health-protective behaviours is critical to prevent the third wave. The current study examined the socio-psychological factors affecting indulgence in health protective behaviours and social media influence among Indian young adults. Methods: To identify the role of psychological traits acting as barriers to health-protective behaviours in India, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews which were thematically analyzed. Results: Overall, the paper unveils the psychological roots of individual differences in practicing health protective behaviours. The researchers found the ‘chameleon effect’ theme as an important socio-psychological factor affecting health protective behaviours that had previously not been investigated in relation to COVID-19. Responses obtained from the interview also stated the need for regulation of information on social media, thus making broadcast media as people’s ultimate source of media. Conclusion: Findings from this study may be used to guide health-protective behaviour promotion in times of the third wave of COVID-19 or pandemics/epidemics that may arise in the future. We urge other researchers to engage in an in-depth study of the themes found in the current study and explore them individually.