Table 2.
Composition and Properties of Six Construct Scales.
| Constructs and Scale Itemsa |
Weighted (%) |
Median (IQR)b | Cronbach Alpha (Covariance)c | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly Disagree | |||
| Confidence in COVID-19 Prevention | 31.25 (25.00, 43.75) |
0.77 (0.19) | ||||
| I am confident that I can wear a mask each time I leave my home. | 74 | 18 | 5 | 3 | ||
| I am confident that I can maintain a distance of 6 feet from others whenever I am outside my home. | 43 | 40 | 15 | 3 | ||
| I am confident I can remember to wash my hands with soap and water for at least 20 s each time I come home from outside. | 60 | 32 | 6 | 1 | ||
| When I need to sneeze, I am confident I can do so into my elbow or sleeve. | 69 | 28 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Support for Communitarianism (vs. Individualism) | 58.00 (50.00, 70.83) |
0.84 (0.38) | ||||
| The government interferes far too much in our everyday lives. a | 24 | 31 | 38 | 8 | ||
| Sometimes government needs to make laws that keep people from hurting themselves. | 28 | 49 | 16 | 8 | ||
| It's not the government's business to try to protect people from themselves. a | 15 | 30 | 43 | 12 | ||
| The government should stop telling people how to live their lives. a | 21 | 32 | 38 | 9 | ||
| The government should do more to advance society's goals, even if that means limiting the freedom and choices of individuals. | 13 | 33 | 33 | 21 | ||
| Government should put limits on the choices individuals can make so they don't get in the way of what's good for society. | 12 | 36 | 32 | 20 | ||
| Support for Egalitarianism (vs. Hierarchy) | 50.00 (37.50, 62.50) |
0.87 (0.50) | ||||
| We have gone too far in pushing equal rights in this country. a | 14 | 23 | 36 | 27 | ||
| Our society would be better off if the distribution of wealth was more equal. | 26 | 38 | 21 | 15 | ||
| We need to dramatically reduce inequalities between the rich and the poor, whites and people of color, and men and women. | 34 | 36 | 18 | 12 | ||
| Discrimination against minorities is still a very serious problem in our society. | 43 | 33 | 18 | 7 | ||
| It seems like blacks, women, homosexuals and other groups don't want equal rights, they want special rights just for them. a | 20 | 26 | 27 | 27 | ||
| Society as a whole has become too soft and feminine. a | 17 | 26 | 35 | 22 | ||
| Confidence in Vaccines | 60.00 (50.00, 70.83) |
0.83 (0.32) | ||||
| I am confident in the safety of vaccines. | 21 | 48 | 23 | 8 | ||
| I do not trust a vaccine unless it has already been safely given to millions of other people. a | 15 | 41 | 36 | 8 | ||
| I am concerned about some of the ingredients in vaccines. a | 17 | 39 | 34 | 10 | ||
| Vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are a good fit for me. | 18 | 55 | 20 | 7 | ||
| I am concerned that the government and drug companies experiment on people like me.a | 15 | 32 | 41 | 12 | ||
| The benefits of vaccines are much bigger than their risks. | 32 | 48 | 17 | 4 | ||
| Trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | 55.36 (51.79, 60.71) |
0.91 (0.22) | ||||
| They do everything they should to protect the health of the population. Agree = high trust | 15 | 56 | 24 | 5 | ||
| They are partly responsible for the illegal drug problems in this country. | 8 | 24 | 51 | 17 | ||
| They recommend things for the public that aren’t helpful. a | 7 | 27 | 55 | 11 | ||
| They use resources well. | 12 | 59 | 24 | 5 | ||
| They waste money on health problems. a | 7 | 20 | 56 | 17 | ||
| They keep trying the same things to help the public, even when they don’t work very well. a | 8 | 38 | 49 | 5 | ||
| They come up with new ideas to solve health problems. | 15 | 65 | 18 | 3 | ||
| They base recommendation on the best available science. | 25 | 58 | 14 | 3 | ||
| They accurately inform the public of both health risks and benefits of medicines. | 17 | 56 | 23 | 5 | ||
| They believe in what they recommend for the public. | 20 | 62 | 15 | 3 | ||
| They quickly help the public with health problems. | 12 | 54 | 29 | 4 | ||
| They are concerned about all people, without caring about who has more or less money. | 23 | 53 | 19 | 5 | ||
| They are more concerned about some racial and ethnic groups than other groups. a | 7 | 19 | 58 | 15 | ||
| They ensure the public is protected against diseases. | 17 | 60 | 20 | 3 | ||
| Trust in Local and State Health Departments | 57.14 (53.57, 62.50) |
0.90 (0.21) | ||||
| They do everything they should to protect the health of the population. | 12 | 55 | 29 | 4 | ||
| They are partly responsible for the illegal drug problems in this country. | 6 | 25 | 52 | 16 | ||
| They recommend things for the public that aren’t helpful. | 6 | 32 | 54 | 8 | ||
| They use resources well. | 9 | 56 | 31 | 5 | ||
| They waste money on health problems. a | 6 | 26 | 57 | 11 | ||
| They keep trying the same things to help the public, even when they don’t work very well. | 7 | 42 | 45 | 6 | ||
| They come up with new ideas to solve health problems. | 8 | 56 | 32 | 4 | ||
| They base recommendation on the best available science. | 16 | 61 | 19 | 4 | ||
| They accurately inform the public of both health risks and benefits of medicines. | 12 | 55 | 28 | 4 | ||
| They believe in what they recommend for the public. | 15 | 65 | 17 | 3 | ||
| They quickly help the public with health problems. | 9 | 55 | 31 | 4 | ||
| They are concerned about all people, without caring about who has more or less money. | 17 | 54 | 24 | 5 | ||
| They are more concerned about some racial and ethnic groups than other groups. a | 7 | 26 | 54 | 13 | ||
| They ensure the public is protected against diseases. | 11 | 61 | 25 | 4 | ||
Responses to 4-point Likert scale items used as the basis for composite scales centralized around the middle options of “agree” and disagree” compared to “strongly agree” and “strongly disagree.” Response options were scored and summed to create linear scores and dichotomized at the median for further analyses: strongly agree = 1, agree = 2, disagree = 3, strongly disagree = 4. Selected items (a) were reversed: strongly agree = 4, agree = 3, disagree = 2, strongly disagree = 1.
IQR: Inter Quartile Range. On a scale of 0–100, the median values and IQRs were: Confidence in COVID-19 Prevention 31.25 (IQR 25.00, 43.75), Support for Government Decision-Making (vs. Individual) 58.00 (IQR 50.00, 70.83), Support for Equality (vs. Discrimination) 50.00 (IQR 37.50, 62.50), Confidence in Vaccines 60.00 (IQR 50.00, 70.83), Trust in CDC 55.36 (IQR 51.79, 60.71), and Trust in Local and State Health Departments 57.14 (IQR 53.57, 62.50).
Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of internal consistency. Scales with Cronbach alpha values greater than 0.80 are generally considered to have good reliability; however, there is disagreement in the field about what cut off value should be used for good reliability (some social scientists use 0.70 as the threshold), though values closer to 1.0 are universally preferred.