I can confirm what the study says. I have different usernames for each community I'm involved in and take care of the reputation of each of them separately.

With an ephemeral name, nothing matters and we can shitpost without restraints.

With my real name, I wouldn't participate at all in many communities.

I think of my username as being like a lock on the door. It's not going to stop someone who is dedicated to fucking with me, but it keeps the opportunistic fuckery at bay.