Anger and confrontation during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national cross-sectional survey in the UK

Objectives To investigate factors associated with anger or confronting others due to COVID-19. Design Online cross-sectional survey. Setting Data were collected between 17 and 20 July 2020. Participants A total of 2237 participants living in the UK aged 16–75 years. Main outcome measures Reporting having had arguments, felt angry or fallen out with others because of COVID-19. Reporting having confronted or reported someone to the authorities, or that you had been confronted or reported to the authorities, for not wearing a face covering; not keeping your distance from others or being in too large a group; or alternatively following recommended measures too carefully. We used logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with anger and confrontation. Results Most participants reported having had arguments, feeling angry or fallen out with others because of COVID-19 (56%, n = 1255). Twenty-two percent (n = 500) of participants reported that they had confronted or reported someone. Fourteen percent (n = 304) of participants reported that they had been confronted or reported by someone. Confronting someone, having been confronted and feeling angry or having had arguments were strongly associated with each other. Anger and confrontation were associated with younger age, greater likelihood of experiencing significant financial difficulties due to the pandemic, greater perceived risk of COVID-19 and getting information about COVID-19 from social media. Conclusions Measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have caused considerable strain. Increased support, clear messaging on the rationale for easing restrictions and combatting misinformation on social media may all help decrease tension.


Factor
Question Response scale Anger For each of the following, please say whether it does or does not apply to you? -I have had arguments with friends or family members about how to behave during the coronavirus pandemic -I have felt angry with other people I know because of how they are behaving in relation to the coronavirus pandemic -I think other people I know have felt angry at me, because of how I am behaving in relation to the coronavirus pandemic -I am no longer speaking to a friend or family member because of disagreements about the coronavirus pandemic.
• Applies to me • Does not apply to me • Don't know

Confrontation
Have you personally done or experienced any of the following in the past month? Please answer honestly, all answers to this survey are anonymous.
-Confronted someone for not wearing a face mask -Reported someone to the authorities for not wearing a face mask -Been confronted by someone because you were not wearing a face mask -Been reported to the authorities by someone because you were not wearing a face mask -Confronted someone for not staying a sufficient distance away from others or for being in too large a group -Been confronted by someone because you were not staying a sufficient distance away from others or for being in too large a group -Confronted someone for following the recommended measures too carefully -Been confronted by someone for following the recommended measures too carefully

Self-reported protective behaviours
Which of the following measures, if any, have you personally taken over the past two weeks because you believe they may prevent the spread of coronavirus? Please only choose options that you have started doing or are doing more because of the coronavirus.
-Staying 2 metres away from other people when outside your home -Wearing a face mask or covering We created separate binary variables indicating whether participants had been confronted or reported for any reason, or if they had been confronted or reported someone else for any reason.
We created a single binary variable indicating whether participants had had arguments with, or were no longer speaking to, friends or family members because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the likelihood of facing significant financial difficulties variable, we grouped answers of "certain" and "I already am".
We coded participants into two groups: thinking they had previously had COVID-19, or not.
We categorised people as knowing the symptoms of COVID-19 if they correctly identified cough, high temperature / fever and loss or change of sense of smell or taste as symptoms of COVID-19.
To investigate perceived speed at which restrictions were being lifted, we created two separate dummy variables, comparing "too quickly" and "too slowly" with "about the right pace".
We recoded endorsement of a face covering conspiracy theory into a binary variable, grouping answers of "true" and "don't know" together (versus "false").
Unless otherwise specified, we coded answers of "don't know" or "prefer not to say" as missing.

Supplementary materials. Full tables for associations between having been
confronted or reported.    For non-binary independent variables, the presented odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios relate to a one-unit increase in the factor scale. *p≤.05 **p≤.001 † Adjusting for gender, age, presence of dependent child in the household, employment status, highest educational or professional qualification, total annual household income, socio-economic grade, household size, marital status, ethnicity, and region.