Table 1 Operationalization and coding of the independent variables
Individual characteristics | |
Gender | 0 = male, 1 = female |
Age | 0 = 18–29 years, 1 = 30–49 years, 2 = 50–69 years, 3 = 70 years and older |
Migrant background | 0 = no, 1 = yes (direct or indirect migration (2nd generation) |
Educational level | 0 = low, 1 = medium, 2 = high, measured by the CASMIN-classification |
Household net income | 0 = lower 25%, 1 = middle 50%, 2 = upper 25%, equivalised (\(income/\sqrt{size\ of\ household}\)) |
Chronic illness | 0 = no, 1 = yes, at least one |
Subjective health | 0 = very good, 1 = good, 2 = satisfactory, 3 = poor, 4 = bad |
COVID-19 as a threat for one’s own health | How likely do you think it is that the novel coronavirus will cause you to become critically ill in the next 12 months? 0–33%: low, 34–66%: medium, 67–100%: high |
Health insurance | 0 = mandatory health insurance, 1 = private health insurance |
Regional characteristics (NUTS-2 level) | |
COVID-19 infections | Number of infections per 1000 inhabitants from January to February 2021 |
Hospital beds | Number of hospital beds per 1000 inhabitants in 2019 |
Intensive care units | Average of daily free intensive care beds per 100,000 inhabitants from January to February 2021 |
GDP | EUR per capita in 2019 |
Poverty rate | Share of recipients of social assistance for households with long-term unemployed household member (SGB-II) in 2020 |
Population density | Average inhabitants per km2 in 2020 |