How national leaders keep ‘us’ safe: A longitudinal, four-nation study exploring the role of identity leadership as a predictor of adherence to COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions
Niklas K Steffens,
S Alexander Haslam,
Svenja B Frenzel,
Nina M Junker,
Aidos Bolatov,
Valerie A Erkens,
Jan A Häusser,
Ronit Kark,
Ines Meyer,
Andreas Mojzisch,
Lucas Monzani,
Stephen D Reicher,
Adil Samekin,
Sebastian C Schuh,
Liliya Sultanova,
Dina Van Dijk,
Llewellyn E van Zyl,
Rolf van Dick
Affiliations
Niklas K Steffens
2 School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
S Alexander Haslam
2 School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Svenja B Frenzel
1 Department of Social Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Nina M Junker
1 Department of Social Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Aidos Bolatov
4 Department of Biochemistry, Astana Medical University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Valerie A Erkens
5 Department of Social Psychology, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
Jan A Häusser
5 Department of Social Psychology, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
Ronit Kark
6 Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Ines Meyer
8 School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, South Africa
Andreas Mojzisch
9 Psychology Department, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany
Lucas Monzani
10 Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Stephen D Reicher
11 School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
Adil Samekin
12 School of Liberal Arts, M Narikbayev KAZGUU University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Sebastian C Schuh
13 Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management, China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China
Liliya Sultanova
14 Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Branch in Tashkent, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Dina Van Dijk
15 Department of Health Systems Management, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Llewellyn E van Zyl
1 Department of Social Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Rolf van Dick
1 Department of Social Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Objectives To investigate whether citizens’ adherence to health-protective non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted by identity leadership, wherein leaders are perceived to create a sense of shared national identity.Design Observational two-wave study. Hypotheses testing was conducted with structural equation modelling.Setting Data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, Germany, Israel and the USA in April/May 2020 and four weeks later.Participants Adults in China (n=548, 66.6% women), Germany (n=182, 78% women), Israel (n=198, 51.0% women) and the USA (n=108, 58.3% women).Measures Identity leadership (assessed by the four-item Identity Leadership Inventory Short-Form) at Time 1, perceived shared national identification (PSNI; assessed with four items) and adherence to health-protective NPIs (assessed with 10 items that describe different health-protective interventions; for example, wearing face masks) at Time 2.Results Identity leadership was positively associated with PSNI (95% CI 0.11 to 0.30, p<0.001) in all countries. This, in turn, was related to more adherence to health-protective NPIs in all countries (95% CI 0.03 to 0.36, 0.001≤p≤0.017) except Israel (95% CI −0.03 to 0.27, p=0.119). In Germany, the more people saw Chancellor Merkel as engaging in identity leadership, the more they adhered to health-protective NPIs (95% CI 0.04 to 0.18, p=0.002). In the USA, in contrast, the more people perceived President Trump as engaging in identity leadership, the less they adhered to health-protective NPIs (95% CI −0.17 to −0.04, p=0.002).Conclusions National leaders can make a difference by promoting a sense of shared identity among their citizens because people are more inclined to follow health-protective NPIs to the extent that they feel part of a united ‘us’. However, the content of identity leadership (perceptions of what it means to be a nation’s citizen) is essential, because this can also encourage people to disregard such recommendations.
