Reciprocal within-person relations between pandemic fatigue and protective behavior: A 20-wave longitudinal study during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns emerged that pandemic fatigue might undermine people's adherence to recommended protective behaviors, such as mask wearing and physical distancing. Consistent with psychological resource theories, empirical evidence has partly supported this, suggesting that pandemic fatigue is negatively related to protective behaviors. However, most findings are based on cross-sectional research designs, leaving open the possibility for reverse causality, such that engaging in protective behaviors reduces pandemic fatigue. Indeed, such negative effects of protective behavior on pandemic fatigue are consistent with arguments based on self-perception theory. This study aims to advance the understanding of how pandemic fatigue and protective behavior are related to one another over time by examining reciprocal within-person associations between these variables.

Method: Data were collected from n = 1,488 employed adults in Germany across 20 monthly measurement waves during the COVID-19 pandemic (May 2021-December 2022).

Results: A random intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed that pandemic fatigue negatively predicted protective behavior in the subsequent month at the within-person level-and, notably, the reverse effect was also observed, such that protective behavior negatively predicted pandemic fatigue in the subsequent month.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the reciprocal nature of relations between pandemic fatigue and protective behavior and challenge the assumption that adherence to protective behaviors inevitably results in increasing pandemic fatigue over time. These insights can inform the design of more effective interventions to sustain adherence to protective measures and mitigate the risk of pandemic fatigue in future public health crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).