Objective:

to determine the opinions and attitudes of secondary school students about prevention measures against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as to analyze the factors associated with a better attitude towards them.

Design:

cross-sectional descriptive study.

Site:

secondary schools.

Participants:

a total of 1886 adolescents in secondary education at fifteen secondary schools in five Autonomous Communities.

Main measures:

sociodemographic aspects, health habits (physical activity, alcohol and tobacco consumption) and opinions, perceptions and attitudes about the preventive recommendations to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated by means of an anonymous self-completed survey.

Results:

mean age of 13.8 years (SD: 1.3). A total of 88.6% (95% CI: 87.1-90.1) were aware of the recommendations; 43.4% (95% CI: 41.2-45.7) complied with all the measures during confinement and 31.3% (95% CI: 29.2-33.5) during the rest of the pandemic. The worst considered measure was early closure of establishments (36.1%), followed by closure between cities (35%) and avoiding meetings (26.6%). Using logistic regression, variables independently associated with a better attitude towards the measures during the pandemic were: younger age (OR: 1.14), not consuming alcohol (OR: 2.11), familiarity with the recommendations (OR: 2.11) and the belief that there will be negative consequences for the country (OR: 1.48).

Conclusions:

young people showed a positive attitude towards the measures against COVID-19 and most were aware of them. By and large they complied with the preventive recommendations, although not in their entirety; compliance was higher during confinement. Opinion about the measures was related to age, attitude towards alcohol, knowledge of the measures and possible consequences of the pandemic.

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