Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of self-control, risk aversion, and fear of infection in shaping compliance with preventive measures

This paper refers to interview data collected in six municipalities in the Lecce province of southern Italy, across threewaves: 2020, 2021, and 2022. The principal aim of the research was to determine whether compliance with fourgovernment-recommended non-pharmaceutical measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 differed over the yearsand, if so, whether these differences were influenced by personal characteristics. Specifically, we focused on thepsychological features of self-control, risk attitude, and fear of contracting COVID-19 and their relationships withindoor and outdoor mask use, and indoor and outdoor physical distancing. The results suggest that virus mortality,the regulations in force, and experience of the pandemic affected compliance with certain preventive measures acrossall waves. With regard to psychological features, the three factors of interest were found to determine preferences andsubstitutions across measures.