The concept of social distancing is now a 'new normal' for many across the globe - but not everyone is successfully maintaining a two-metre separation.
A new study by Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health has revealed that men and young people - in particular young men - are the worst at adhering to the public health measure.
Scientists from Canada and the United States collected data from 2013 adults in North America and Europe to investigate the barriers - and excuses - people used to justify their failure at following the protocol.
Social distancing behaviours assessed by the researchers included avoiding travel or large social gatherings, maintaining a safe, one or two-metre distance from others in public, isolating at home when sick, avoiding contact with those outside of one's household, and working from home.
The results suggest 30 to 40 percent of men fail to adhere to social distancing recommendations, while women have a non-adherence rate of 15 to 30 percent.
"This finding may be explained by gender-specific differences in health information speaking behaviour, where women are more likely to actively seek out and engage with health information, and risk tolerance and behaviour which is generally lower in women," said the study.
"Similarly, younger individuals, particularly in the 18-24 age group, who were found to be less likely than older individuals to adhere to social distancing recommendations, might have a stronger preference or need to socialize in person to seek and receive social support and facilitate relatedness or feelings of belongingness."
The study found the most common excuses for flouting social distancing were: "There are many people walking on the streets in my area" (31 percent); "I have friends or family who need me to run errands for them" (25 percent); "I don't trust the messages my government provides about the pandemic" (13 percent); and "I feel stressed when I am alone or in isolation" (13 percent).
The majority of those who are successfully social distancing - 86 percent - said their motivation was to protect others.
Eighty-four percent said they adhered to the rules as they felt a sense of responsibility to protect their communities, and 84 percent also said they socially distanced out of fear for their own safety. Others said they followed the public health advice as they are able to work or study remotely.
On a positive note, the research found the least common excuses were theories antithetical to accepted public health advice, such as: "I believe the best strategy to manage this pandemic is to let the virus run its course" (3.9 percent); "I think I cannot spread the virus if I am not sick" (1.9 percent); and "I've heard social distancing is not effective at reducing transmission of the virus" (1.1 percent), as well as the conspiracy: "I think the government is exaggerating the impact of this pandemic" (3.8 percent).
However, the study found that of the 2013 adults, no one perfectly adhered to the assessed social distancing behaviours.
Eighty-four percent of those surveyed on their adherence to social distancing behaviours were female - a limitation of the study identified by the researchers.
"It should be noted that substantially fewer men compared to women participated in this study, so differences relating to gender might be a function of our unbalanced enrollment," said the study.
