Young Adults Less Likely to Wear Masks and Take Other COVID-19 Precautions

If you’re finding your younger workers are not as dedicated to COVID-19 safety protocols as your older workers, a new survey backs you up. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its COVID-19 Impact Survey findings which showed that younger adults aged 18 to 29 have lower engagement in coronavirus mitigation behaviors compared to older adults over 60 years old.

The COVID-19 Impact Survey was conducted by the University of Chicago and consisted of 6,475 online or telephone surveys among U.S. adults. The surveys were done in three waves: April 20-26, May 4-10, and May 30-June 8. In each of the three time waves, the reported COVID-19 mitigation behaviors were lowest among younger adults aged 18 to 29 and highest among older adults over 60. For instance, in June, 38% of 18-to-29-year-olds engaged in all six mitigation behaviors while 53% aged 60 and older also did.

The survey asked respondents “Which of the following measures, if any, are you taking in response to the coronavirus?” TIME reports there were 19 response options to this question, of which six were analyzed in the published report:

• Wearing a face mask
• Washing or sanitizing hands
• Social distancing when out of the house
• Avoiding crowded places
• Canceling or postponing social or recreational activities
• Avoiding some or all restaurants.

The other 13 response options are in the CDC findings report.

The CDC noted that older adults are more likely to take COVID-19 precaution measures more seriously than younger adults “based on their higher risk for severe illness.” It also noted that there is a need to reach “younger adults and others who are not currently engaging in mitigation behaviors.” CDC suggests accomplishing this goal with the assistance of “targeted channels, trusted leaders, and influencers at national, state, and local levels.”