Fear, learning, or self-control? Predictors of Russian citizens’ compliance with mandatory and voluntary Covid-19 prevention measures

In this article, we examine citizens’ willingness to comply with Covid-19 prevention strategies of mandatory mask-wearing and recommended social distance/contact limitation measures from competing theoretical perspectives. These include self-control, deterrence, learning, social control theories, and fear of the infection. Data for the study come from 508 respondents from St. Petersburg—Russia’s second largest city—in May 2020, when the Covid-19 regional legislation that mandated citizens to wear masks in public went into effect. Overall, our findings suggest mixed support for various theoretical perspectives. Among the variables included in the analysis, fear of the infection is positively related to compliance with both mandated and recommended measures. Fear of Covid-19 infection, fear of punishment, and fear of disapproval on behalf of significant others that would follow non-compliance appear to be strong predictors of law-abiding behavior. Learning and self-control theories explain compliance with non-mandatory measures, but not with mask-wearing, which carried a penalty for violating the mandate.