University of Portsmouth study reveals people believe they are following lockdown rules while others are not
A STUDY by the city’s university has shown people believe they are sticking to lockdown rules while the general public are not.
Research carried out by the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth showed the vast majority of respondents felt they had complied ‘very well’ during the first lockdown.
People gave an average survey score of 4.49 compared to an average of 2.40 when questioned about how others were following the rules.
A score of five indicated people were responding ‘very well’ while one meant ‘not well at all’.
The results also showed a perception there was greater compliance within peoples’ families and social groups.
Dr Rob Inkpen, who helped to conduct the study, said: ‘Participants believe they had been significantly more compliant than others in the UK general population.
‘Those furthest from the respondents’ own social environment were seen to be the least compliant. Family was seen as most compliant, followed by friends, people in their neighbourhood, and finally people in the UK general population.
‘This latter group were perceived as not being compliant with the lockdown regulations.’
The findings also showed the different perceptions of different demographic groups.
Participants in older age groups tended to perceive the general population as more compliant compared to younger age groups while women believed they were more likely to follow the rules than men.
The survey showed not attending social gatherings was believed to be the rule most adhered to while social distancing was the least.
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Research also investigated public perception of the police during lockdown
Participants who reported they trusted the police ‘completely’ to be fair and transparent in enforcing Covid-19 restrictions were significantly more likely to also report they fully complied with lockdown restrictions.
Dr Sarah Charman, an expert in criminology, said: ‘Those responding with low compliance scores may feel a disregard for authority or the belief that the restrictions are unnecessary.’
The researchers are now looking at how attitudes may have changed during the current lockdown. The study is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.