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. 2021 Aug 12;23(8):e30612. doi: 10.2196/30612

Table 3.

Study 2 descriptive statistics.

Variables Value (N=1037)
Control independent variables

Age (years), mean (SD) 31.65 (4.18)

Male, n (%) 483 (46.58)

White, n (%) 657 (63.36)

Full-time employment, n (%) 542 (52.27)

Household income (US $), n (%)


0 to 9999 142 (13.69)


10,000 to 14,999 59 (5.69)


15,000 to 19,999 65 (6.27)


20,000 to 34,999 191 (18.42)


35,000 to 49,999 171 (16.49)


50,000 to 74,999 171 (16.49)


75,000 to 99,999 118 (11.38)


100,000 to 199,999 86 (8.29)


200,000 or more 34 (3.28)

Education, n (%)


Less than 8 years 16 (1.54)


8 to 11 years 52 (6.56)


12 years or completed high school 358 (34.52)


Post–high school training other than college 98 (9.45)


Some college 198 (19.09)


College degree 246 (23.72)


Postgraduate 69 (6.65)
Key independent variables

Digital health information–seeking behavior (HISB) for selfa, mean (SD) 13.14 (12.28)

HISB for another persona, mean (SD) 8.14 (10.33)

Political party identificationb, mean (SD) 3.23 (1.68)

Tested positive for COVID-19, n (%) 58 (5.59)
Dependent variables

Severityc, mean (SD) 3.84 (1.07)

Susceptibilityc, mean (SD) 3.09 (1.03)

Preventive behaviors


7-item indexd, mean (SD) 5.86 (1.70)


Avoided travel, n (%) 831 (80.14)


Canceled large gatherings, n (%) 857 (82.64)


Stayed at home, n (%) 830 (80.04)


Wore a protective face mask, n (%) 841 (81.10)


Frequently washed hands, n (%) 941 (90.74)


Stayed six feet away from others, n (%) 911 (87.85)

Sheltered in place, n (%) 850 (81.97)

aHISB was rated on a 6-point scale as follows: never, once, several times, once per week, several times per week, and every day. Responses were then recoded in terms of days per month (0 to 30).

bPolitical party identification was rated on a 6-point scale ranging from 1 (strong Democrat) to 6 (strong Republican).

cResponses were rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

dThe 7-item index is an additive composite variable of the seven individual preventive behaviors.