Pandemics and social cohesion: Assessing and monitoring trust at the times of Coronavirus
Pandemics and social cohesion: Assessing and monitoring trust at the times of Coronavirus
Arnstein Aassve
Aree / Gruppi di ricerca
Partecipanti al progetto
- Conzo Pierluigi (Responsabile)
- Arnstein Aassve (Responsabile)
- Nicolo' Cavalli (Ricercatore)
Descrizione del progetto
This study shed lights on how social and political trust changed during the pandemic through a three-waves survey in the US (N=974). We elicited social and institutional trust, along with attribution of responsibility for the current situation. Results show that institutional trust fell, while interpersonal trust slightly increased, especially during the peak of the first pandemic wave. This dynamic was driven by Republicans, whose institutional trust decreased, especially when exposed to COVID-19, along with growth in social trust. Considering that Republicans attributed more responsibilities to Trump, we argue that institutional trust was crowded out by social trust. Disappointed voters felt unprotected by institutions and looked for support elsewhere in society. A priming experiment implemented in the last survey wave corroborate these findings. Overall, results suggest that societal shocks may induce people to exchange formal with informal institutions as a coping strategy, with social and political trust moving in opposite directions.
Joint with Arnstein Aassve, Letizia Mencarini, Nicolò Cavalli and Chen Peng (Bocconi University)
Risultati e pubblicazioni
Trust in the time of coronavirus: longitudinal evidence from the United States
2022-01-01 Arnstein Aassve; Tommaso Capezzone; Nicolo' Cavalli; Pierluigi Conzo; Chen Peng https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/1844088