Reactance against Anti-COVID Regulations – a Systematic Review
Reactance against Anti-COVID Regulations – a Systematic Review

Summary/Abstract: Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals perceived a threat to their freedom due to government-imposed restrictions on specific behaviors, motivating them to take actions against these limitations. The Reactance Theory (Brehm, 1981) proved valuable in explaining the motivation of these individuals to resist anti-COVID regula- tions. Numerous studies have been published, demonstrating that experiencing reactance against anti-COVID policy leads to actions contradictory to these measures. This article aims to describe a systematic review of studies examining the relationship between regu- lations aimed at limiting the pandemic and reactance to these actions.Method: The review included works from the EBSCO, Web of Science, and Scopus data- bases, measuring reactance as a state or trait, along with variables directly related to combating the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: The literature review identified 59 studies on the relationship between anti-COVID regulations and reactance to these actions. An analysis of the characteristics of the stud- ied populations, research methodology, and obtained results was conducted. The study outlined persuasive measures encouraging actions in line with government recommen- dations that intensify or reduce reactance, as well as those that do not influence it. Fur- thermore, it described various relationships between reactance (trait and state against regulations) and the willingness to comply with anti-COVID regulations.Conclusion: The presented literature review identified determinants of experiencing a state of reactance against anti-COVID regulations and described relationships between reactance and the effectiveness of these regulations. The results of the review may aid in designing future regulations aimed at combating epidemics.

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