International research has highlighted adolescents and young adults as a group with possibly low compliance rates with public health initiatives to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Although research on non-compliance during pandemics has frequently concentrated on contemporary correlations, less is known about the relationship between non-compliance during pandemics and prior social and psychological risk factors. Public health campaigns should employ tactics that promote moral obligation and trust in authorities, or they should use reliable members of the community to spread information, in order to encourage voluntary compliance with COVID-19 policies. Self-monitoring, environment remodelling, or nudging may promote compliance in young adults with poor self-control. Investments made over time to reintegrate young people with antisocial tendencies into society may reduce rule-breaking, even during pandemics when adherence to the law saves lives.
