*2.5. Peer Groups' Beliefs*

Peer groups' beliefs refer to the ways of thinking of an individual's peers, including friends, colleagues, neighbors, and other people with whom the individual is often in contact. During a pandemic, their ways of thinking might influence the behavior of an individual. It has been narrated that it would be impossible to deal with a pandemic without public cooperation, irrespective of the number of physicians, technology, health care personnel, and medical facilities available. To bring public cooperation, governments, and high authorities' participation was recommended because without considering the social dimension, it would not be possible to control the outbreak [57]. After the outbreak of SARS in 2002 to 2003, HIV/AIDS pandemics had a significant effect on the world over the subsequent decades. It exposed the substantial function of social norms, beliefs, and attitudes in determining people's lifestyles in society. It drew attention towards taking preventive measures and controlling pandemic diseases [58]. Zhang et al. [59] examined and noted the negative influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on peer groups' physical activities in the U.S. Moreover, a study consisted of Thai college undergraduate students employed via peer leaders to find how hypothetical variables function inside theory-based intermediation. It offered a concise HIV preventive measure plan to improve Thai college students' knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS prevention and improve their confidence and motivation to fight against this disease [60]. In light of these studies, the following hypothesis is formulated:

**Hypothesis 5.** *Peer groups' beliefs is likely to have a positive association with willingness to adopt pandemic prevention.*
