COVID-19 and Social Distancing: A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic

Ilona Croy; Carina Heller; Grace Akello; Afifa Anjum; Chiemezie Atama; Andreja Avsec; Boris Bizumic; Ricardo Borges Rodrigues; Mahmoud Boussena; Marina Butovskaya; Seda Can; Hakan Cetinkaya; Jorge Contreras-Garduño; Rui Costa Lopes; Marcin Czub; Slavka Demuthova; Daria Dronova; Seda Dural; Oliver Ifeanyi Eya; Mokadem Fatma; Tomasz Frackowiak; Farida Guemaz; Ivana Hromatko; Konstantinos Kafetsios; Tina Kavčič; Imran Khilji; Magdalena Kruk; Cătălin Lazăr; Torun Lindholm; Amanda Londero-Santos; Conal Monaghan; Anam Shahid; Bojan Musil; Jean Carlos Natividade; Elisabeth Oberzaucher; Anna Oleszkiewicz; Ike E. Onyishi; Charity Onyishi; Ariela F. Pagani; Miriam Parise; Katarzyna Pisanski; Nejc Plohl; Camelia Popa; Pavol Prokop; Muhammad Rizwan; Mario Sainz; Rūta Sargautytė; Shivantika Sharad; Jaroslava Valentova; Marco Varella; Belkacem Yakhlef; Gyesook Yoo; Gaja Zager Kocjan; Maja Zupančič; Agnieszka Sorokowska

doi:10.1177/10693971231174935

COVID-19 and Social Distancing: A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic

Ilona Croy
, Carina Heller
, Grace Akello
, Afifa Anjum
, Chiemezie Atama
, Andreja Avsec
, Boris Bizumic
, Ricardo Borges Rodrigues
, Mahmoud Boussena
, Marina Butovskaya
, Seda Can
, Hakan Cetinkaya
, Jorge Contreras-Garduño
, Rui Costa Lopes
, Marcin Czub
, Slavka Demuthova
, Daria Dronova
, Seda Dural
, Oliver Ifeanyi Eya
, Mokadem Fatma

Tomasz Frackowiak, Farida Guemaz, Ivana Hromatko, Konstantinos Kafetsios, Tina Kavčič, Imran Khilji, Magdalena Kruk, Cătălin Lazăr, Torun Lindholm, Amanda Londero-Santos, Conal Monaghan, Anam Shahid, Bojan Musil, Jean Carlos Natividade, Elisabeth Oberzaucher, Anna Oleszkiewicz, Ike E. Onyishi, Charity Onyishi, Ariela F. Pagani, Miriam Parise, Katarzyna Pisanski, Nejc Plohl, Camelia Popa, Pavol Prokop, Muhammad Rizwan, Mario Sainz, Rūta Sargautytė, Shivantika Sharad, Jaroslava Valentova, Marco Varella, Belkacem Yakhlef, Gyesook Yoo, Gaja Zager Kocjan, Maja Zupančič, Agnieszka Sorokowska

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of unprecedented safety measures, one of them being physical distancing recommendations. Here, we assessed whether the pandemic has led to long-term effects on two important physical distancing aspects, namely interpersonal distance preferences and interpersonal touch behaviors. We analyzed nearly 14,000 individual cases from two large, cross-cultural surveys – the first conducted 2 years prior to the pandemic and the second during a relatively stable period of a decreased infection rate in May-June 2021. Preferred interpersonal distances increased by 54% globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observable across all types of relationships, all countries, and was more pronounced in individuals with higher self-reported vulnerability to diseases. Unexpectedly, participants reported a higher incidence of interpersonal touch behaviors during than before the pandemic. We discuss our results in the context of prosocial and self-protection motivations that potentially promote different social behaviors.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	41-69
Number of pages	29
Journal	Cross-Cultural Research
Volume	58
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/10693971231174935
Publication status	Published - Feb 2024

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Scientific Excellence Incubator Being Human Lab, University of Wroclaw. The work of Andreja Avsec and Gaja Zager Kocjan was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency, research core funding no. P5-0110. The work of Tina Kavčič and Maja Zupančič was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency, research core funding no. P5-0062.

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

508004 Intercultural communication
501001 General psychology

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic
cross-cultural psychology
interpersonal distance preferences
interpersonal touch behaviors
nonverbal communication

Access to Document

10.1177/10693971231174935

Cite this

Croy, I., Heller, C., Akello, G., Anjum, A., Atama, C., Avsec, A., Bizumic, B., Borges Rodrigues, R., Boussena, M., Butovskaya, M., Can, S., Cetinkaya, H., Contreras-Garduño, J., Costa Lopes, R., Czub, M., Demuthova, S., Dronova, D., Dural, S., Eya, O. I., ... Sorokowska, A. (2024). COVID-19 and Social Distancing: A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic. Cross-Cultural Research, 58(1), 41-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/10693971231174935

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title = "COVID-19 and Social Distancing: A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic",

abstract = "The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of unprecedented safety measures, one of them being physical distancing recommendations. Here, we assessed whether the pandemic has led to long-term effects on two important physical distancing aspects, namely interpersonal distance preferences and interpersonal touch behaviors. We analyzed nearly 14,000 individual cases from two large, cross-cultural surveys {\textendash} the first conducted 2 years prior to the pandemic and the second during a relatively stable period of a decreased infection rate in May-June 2021. Preferred interpersonal distances increased by 54\% globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observable across all types of relationships, all countries, and was more pronounced in individuals with higher self-reported vulnerability to diseases. Unexpectedly, participants reported a higher incidence of interpersonal touch behaviors during than before the pandemic. We discuss our results in the context of prosocial and self-protection motivations that potentially promote different social behaviors.",

keywords = "COVID-19 pandemic, cross-cultural psychology, interpersonal distance preferences, interpersonal touch behaviors, nonverbal communication",

author = "Ilona Croy and Carina Heller and Grace Akello and Afifa Anjum and Chiemezie Atama and Andreja Avsec and Boris Bizumic and \{Borges Rodrigues\}, Ricardo and Mahmoud Boussena and Marina Butovskaya and Seda Can and Hakan Cetinkaya and Jorge Contreras-Gardu{\~n}o and \{Costa Lopes\}, Rui and Marcin Czub and Slavka Demuthova and Daria Dronova and Seda Dural and Eya, \{Oliver Ifeanyi\} and Mokadem Fatma and Tomasz Frackowiak and Farida Guemaz and Ivana Hromatko and Konstantinos Kafetsios and Tina Kav{\v c}i{\v c} and Imran Khilji and Magdalena Kruk and C{\u a}t{\u a}lin Laz{\u a}r and Torun Lindholm and Amanda Londero-Santos and Conal Monaghan and Anam Shahid and Bojan Musil and Natividade, \{Jean Carlos\} and Elisabeth Oberzaucher and Anna Oleszkiewicz and Onyishi, \{Ike E.\} and Charity Onyishi and Pagani, \{Ariela F.\} and Miriam Parise and Katarzyna Pisanski and Nejc Plohl and Camelia Popa and Pavol Prokop and Muhammad Rizwan and Mario Sainz and Rūta Sargautytė and Shivantika Sharad and Jaroslava Valentova and Marco Varella and Belkacem Yakhlef and Gyesook Yoo and \{Zager Kocjan\}, Gaja and Maja Zupan{\v c}i{\v c} and Agnieszka Sorokowska",

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year = "2024",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1177/10693971231174935",

language = "English",

volume = "58",

pages = "41--69",

journal = "Cross-Cultural Research",

issn = "1069-3971",

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Croy, I, Heller, C, Akello, G, Anjum, A, Atama, C, Avsec, A, Bizumic, B, Borges Rodrigues, R, Boussena, M, Butovskaya, M, Can, S, Cetinkaya, H, Contreras-Garduño, J, Costa Lopes, R, Czub, M, Demuthova, S, Dronova, D, Dural, S, Eya, OI, Fatma, M, Frackowiak, T, Guemaz, F, Hromatko, I, Kafetsios, K, Kavčič, T, Khilji, I, Kruk, M, Lazăr, C, Lindholm, T, Londero-Santos, A, Monaghan, C, Shahid, A, Musil, B, Natividade, JC, Oberzaucher, E, Oleszkiewicz, A, Onyishi, IE, Onyishi, C, Pagani, AF, Parise, M, Pisanski, K, Plohl, N, Popa, C, Prokop, P, Rizwan, M, Sainz, M, Sargautytė, R, Sharad, S, Valentova, J, Varella, M, Yakhlef, B, Yoo, G, Zager Kocjan, G, Zupančič, M & Sorokowska, A 2024, 'COVID-19 and Social Distancing: A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic', Cross-Cultural Research, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 41-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/10693971231174935

TY - JOUR

T1 - COVID-19 and Social Distancing

T2 - A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic

AU - Croy, Ilona

AU - Heller, Carina

AU - Akello, Grace

AU - Anjum, Afifa

AU - Atama, Chiemezie

AU - Avsec, Andreja

AU - Bizumic, Boris

AU - Borges Rodrigues, Ricardo

AU - Boussena, Mahmoud

AU - Butovskaya, Marina

AU - Can, Seda

AU - Cetinkaya, Hakan

AU - Contreras-Garduño, Jorge

AU - Costa Lopes, Rui

AU - Czub, Marcin

AU - Demuthova, Slavka

AU - Dronova, Daria

AU - Dural, Seda

AU - Eya, Oliver Ifeanyi

AU - Fatma, Mokadem

AU - Frackowiak, Tomasz

AU - Guemaz, Farida

AU - Hromatko, Ivana

AU - Kafetsios, Konstantinos

AU - Kavčič, Tina

AU - Khilji, Imran

AU - Kruk, Magdalena

AU - Lazăr, Cătălin

AU - Lindholm, Torun

AU - Londero-Santos, Amanda

AU - Monaghan, Conal

AU - Shahid, Anam

AU - Musil, Bojan

AU - Natividade, Jean Carlos

AU - Oberzaucher, Elisabeth

AU - Oleszkiewicz, Anna

AU - Onyishi, Ike E.

AU - Onyishi, Charity

AU - Pagani, Ariela F.

AU - Parise, Miriam

AU - Pisanski, Katarzyna

AU - Plohl, Nejc

AU - Popa, Camelia

AU - Prokop, Pavol

AU - Rizwan, Muhammad

AU - Sainz, Mario

AU - Sargautytė, Rūta

AU - Sharad, Shivantika

AU - Valentova, Jaroslava

AU - Varella, Marco

AU - Yakhlef, Belkacem

AU - Yoo, Gyesook

AU - Zager Kocjan, Gaja

AU - Zupančič, Maja

AU - Sorokowska, Agnieszka

PY - 2024/2

Y1 - 2024/2

N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of unprecedented safety measures, one of them being physical distancing recommendations. Here, we assessed whether the pandemic has led to long-term effects on two important physical distancing aspects, namely interpersonal distance preferences and interpersonal touch behaviors. We analyzed nearly 14,000 individual cases from two large, cross-cultural surveys – the first conducted 2 years prior to the pandemic and the second during a relatively stable period of a decreased infection rate in May-June 2021. Preferred interpersonal distances increased by 54% globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observable across all types of relationships, all countries, and was more pronounced in individuals with higher self-reported vulnerability to diseases. Unexpectedly, participants reported a higher incidence of interpersonal touch behaviors during than before the pandemic. We discuss our results in the context of prosocial and self-protection motivations that potentially promote different social behaviors.

AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of unprecedented safety measures, one of them being physical distancing recommendations. Here, we assessed whether the pandemic has led to long-term effects on two important physical distancing aspects, namely interpersonal distance preferences and interpersonal touch behaviors. We analyzed nearly 14,000 individual cases from two large, cross-cultural surveys – the first conducted 2 years prior to the pandemic and the second during a relatively stable period of a decreased infection rate in May-June 2021. Preferred interpersonal distances increased by 54% globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observable across all types of relationships, all countries, and was more pronounced in individuals with higher self-reported vulnerability to diseases. Unexpectedly, participants reported a higher incidence of interpersonal touch behaviors during than before the pandemic. We discuss our results in the context of prosocial and self-protection motivations that potentially promote different social behaviors.

KW - COVID-19 pandemic

KW - cross-cultural psychology

KW - interpersonal distance preferences

KW - interpersonal touch behaviors

KW - nonverbal communication

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U2 - 10.1177/10693971231174935

DO - 10.1177/10693971231174935

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85177553286

SN - 1069-3971

VL - 58

SP - 41

EP - 69

JO - Cross-Cultural Research

JF - Cross-Cultural Research

IS - 1

ER -

COVID-19 and Social Distancing: A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic

Abstract

Funding

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

Keywords

Access to Document

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