To Go Out or Not to Go Out, That Was the Problem: Did Compliance with the Formal Norms and the Perception of the Descriptive Norms of Lockdown Alleviate Psychological Distress in Times of COVID-19?

We analysed data from a wide quota sample of the Italian adult population (N = 6,681), collected between April 6 and July 9, 2020, to study the association between participation in allowed and temporarily forbidden outdoor activities and psychological distress during the COVID-19 lockdown and in the following weeks, with the moderation of the perception of the quota of people who were compliant with the measures the government took to combat COVID-19. Participation in allowed outdoor activities was positively associated with psychological distress, while participation in temporarily forbidden outdoor activities was negatively associated with psychological distress. Both associations were stronger among who believed that a small proportion of people living in their area were following the governmental COVID-19 protocol. Strengths, weaknesses and future developments of this study are discussed.