Adults with Close Contacts that Tested Positive for COVID are More Likely to Restrict Their Daily Behaviors Due to COVID-19

In November 2020, we* collected the first wave of data for The Longitudinal Study of Dynamics of Social Life During COVID-19 (DSL-COVID). This is a nationally representative survey with an oversample of Asian Americans. Our statistics are adjusted with weights so that our results are generalizable to the US population. Our survey includes 1,768 whites, 592 Asian Americans, 309 Black Americans, and 355 Hispanics.

GENERAL COVID-RELATED BEHAVIOR

  • Overall, 27% of our sample report either they or a family member/close friend received a positive COVID-19 test.
  • 43% of our sample reported that they continue to restrict their daily behaviors due to COVID-19.
  • Among respondents who report either they or a family member/close friend received a positive COVID-19 test, 49% restrict their daily behaviors. In contrast, for those who do not have a close contact that received a positive COVID-19 test, only 39% restrict their daily behaviors.

RESTRICTING DAILY BEHAVIOR BY RACE

  • Whites have the lowest rates of restricting their daily behaviors due to COVID-19. Only 36% of white respondents who have no close contact with COVID restrict their daily behaviors, while 47% of whites who have had close contact with COVID restrict their daily behaviors.
  • For Asian Americans, the rates of restricting daily behaviors are similar among those who have and have not had close contact with COVID.
  • Black Americans had the highest rates of reporting that they restrict their daily behaviors due to COVID-19, particularly among those who have had close contact with COVID.
  • Hispanics had similar rates of restricting their daily behaviors compared with white respondents.

Bar plot of daily behaviors by race

RESTRICTING DAILY BEHAVIOR BY GENDER 

  • Women have higher rates of restricting their daily behaviors due to COVID-19 compared with men.
  • For example, women who do not have close contact with COVID still restrict their daily behaviors compared to men who do have close contact with COVID.
  • Women who have had close contact with COVID have the highest rates of restricting their daily behaviors.

Bar plot of daily behaviors by gender

RESTRICTING DAILY BEHAVIOR BY POLITICAL PARTY

  • Democrats have the highest rates of restricting their daily behaviors due to COVID-19.
  • Republicans have the lowest rates of restricting their daily behaviors due to COVID-19, even if they have a close contact that tested positive for COVID.

Bar plot of daily behaviors by political party

*Project PI=Grace Kao, IBM Professor of Sociology, Yale University.
Graduate Student RAs: Hannah Tessler and Meera Choi, Department of Sociology, Yale University.

 **We gratefully acknowledge support from the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University.

Suggested Citation:

Tessler, Hannah, Meera Choi, and Grace Kao. 2021. “Adults with Close Contacts that Tested Positive for COVID are More Likely to Restrict Their Daily Behaviors Due to COVID-19.” Research Brief from The Longitudinal Study of Dynamics of Social Life During COVID-19 (DSL-COVID). https://campuspress.yale.edu/dslcovid/fact-sheet-3/.

PDF version of this page