The relationship between public law-abiding tendency and safe COVID-19 behaviors, development of a new scale, and association with health-related behaviors.

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to develop and validate the Public Law-Abiding Tendency Scale (PLATS) and to examine its association with some health-related behaviors. Several steps were taken including item suggestion and discussion by an expert panel, sequential item reduction to maximize internal consistency using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. A sample comprised 1108 community-dwelling participants. Internal consistency and construct validity of the PLATS were examined. The 10-item scale showed good psychometric properties. There was a significantly moderate association between PLATS scores and COVID-19 preventive behaviors (r = 0.564; p < .001), indicating that a greater tendency to abide by public regulations was positively associated with more adherence to health recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study findings suggest the PLATS is a promising new scale for assessing individuals' tendency to abide by general public laws that could provide an empirical basis for further study on this topic.