Coronavirus: Survey Revealed Young Men Are Likely To Disregard Lockdown Rules

Researchers from the University of Sheffield and Ulster University discovered that men with ages ranging from 19 to 24 have ignored the lockdown restrictions in the U.K. This was the result of the survey where the experts questioned almost 2,0000 respondents.

The leading reason why they have disregarded the stay-at-home order was to meet up with their friends. The research was co-written by psychologists from the two mentioned universities.

It was learned that this age bracket in men have the guts to go out because they do not think that they will be infected or spread the coronavirus to other people they interact with. The shocking thing is that they also think that their government’s measures against COVID-19 are not worthwhile.

According to BBC News, this attitude of these young men is linked to depression. It was explained by the psychologists that this age group said during the lockdown, they felt really apprehensive during the lockdown. It was added that those who have depression are more likely to disobey the lockdown guidelines by leaving their homes for no important reason at all.

On the other hand, people with anxiety will follow social distancing rules and will practice regular washing of hands. Most of the 19 to 21-year-old men who took part in the study have experienced being fined, arrested or brought home by the police since they violated the quarantine guidelines. In comparison, only one in every 10 women in the same age bracket violates the rules.

Dr. Liat Levita from the University of Sheffield stated that mental health can’t be used to justify why these people are not following the rules, however, it could help the researchers get a better understanding of why it is hard for some individuals to observe simple orders.

“We know that males, in general, take more risks and evolutionary psychologists have always explained that in terms of males trying to show off,” Yahoo quoted Dr. Levita as saying. “They will take more risks and their decision-making processes are shaped by that so their behavior actually makes sense to them.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is gearing to restart U.K.’s economy and he already asked people to return to work. He is slowly easing the lockdown and looking forward to opening more stores and hopefully schools in the coming months. This is good news to those who were part of the survey but many citizens are still very concerned since a second wave could happen if they go back to the streets this early.