Non-compliance with COVID-19-related public health measures among young adults in Switzerland: Insights from a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Adolescents and young adults have been identified internationally as a group with potentially low compliance with public health measures aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19], especially with social distancing measures (Barari et al., 2020; Cohen et al., 2020; Park et al., 2020; Roy-Chowdhury et al., 2020). In mid-March 2020, the WHO issued a special appeal to young people for increased compliance (Nebehay, 2020). This group often displays only mild or no symptoms of COVID-19, while still being infectious (Centers for Disease Control [CDC] COVID-19 Response Team, 2020; Pan et al., 2020). Thus, their potential for spreading the virus is high, considering that they also tend to have large social networks and active social lives (Andrews et al., 2020; Cohen et al., 2020; Wrzus et al., 2013).