Messages underpinning Wales’s 20mph speed limit risk repeating mistakes made during the Covid pandemic, Welsh academics believe. A study found the more strictly that people complied with Covid restrictions, the worse their mental health is today.
Bangor University researchers believe this resulted from a failure of government messaging to target different personality types during the pandemic. They believe the safety argument now being pushed by Welsh Government, to justify lower speed limits, is also too narrow in its remit.
The Bangor team looked at the personality traits of around 1,700 people, their behaviour during the pandemic and what’s happened to them since. These were grouped into two personality types – communal and agenic.
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Communal people were more sensitive to the needs of others who complied with lockdown rules to protect the more vulnerable. Agenic types were more focused on their own needs and were less likely to have complied, unless they personally feared being infected.
Half of those involved in the study were asked to self-report their well-being over a three-month period from February 2023. This found that communal types, who were most worried about infection during the pandemic, are more likely to be experiencing stress, anxiety and depression now.
Dr Marley Willegers, of the university’s Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance (IPEP) said this group were least likely to have resumed “normal behaviour”. “There was naturally a lot of focus on getting public health messages out when Covid first emerged, to change people’s behaviour,” he said.
“Similarly, throughout the pandemic, messaging campaigns were designed to ensure people continued to follow the rules. But there was no messaging campaign as we came out of the pandemic - to help everyone safely transition back to normality. Without this, certain personality types have retained infection prevention behaviour and anxiety that undermines their mental wellbeing.”
Regardless of personality, the study found that higher levels of compliance with Covid rules in 2020 equated with lower levels of current well-being. In other words, said Dr Willegers, the more that people complied with Covid rules, the worse their wellbeing emerged in the aftermath.
He believes different personality types must be considered if efforts to encourage nationwide behaviour change are to be effective. The Bangor team drew parallels with the introduction of a default 20mph speed limit in Wales.
Government messaging has focused primarily on the lives saved by driving slower – but self-centred agentic personalities are unlikely to take much notice, they said. A broader campaign, which also focuses on the personal costs of speeding, would target a wider range of personality types more effectively.
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Dr Willegers said: “It’s clear from our research that if government advertising campaigns want to change the public’s behaviour, they need to take both personality types into account. Campaigns need to highlight the personal costs and benefits involved, not just people’s responsibility to others.”
The Welsh Government was approached for a comment. The administration argued that 20mph speed limits will save six–10 lives and prevent 1,200–2,000 road casualties each year.
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