TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological Distress and Political Distrust during a Global Health Crisis
T2 - Evidence from a Cross-National Survey
AU - Kim, Harris Hyun soo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - In addition to causing unprecedented mortality and wreaking havoc on national economies, the coronavirus disease pandemic has significantly undermined public mental health. How has the pandemic-induced psychological and mental distress contributed to declining political trust cross-nationally? Using a large-scale global survey comprising respondents from Africa, Americas, Asia, Middle East, and Europe, the present study addresses this question. Results from multilevel analysis show that across dozens of low- as well as high-income countries, pandemic distress experienced by individuals is negatively linked with political trust (public confidence in the government’s capacity and transparency). Moreover, this relationship is conditional on alternative “performance measures” or contextual moderators: Human Development Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, and Fragile States Index. Specifically, the magnitude of the association between pandemic distress and political distrust increases in countries that are less economically developed, perceived to be more corrupt, and politically more fragile or vulnerable.
AB - In addition to causing unprecedented mortality and wreaking havoc on national economies, the coronavirus disease pandemic has significantly undermined public mental health. How has the pandemic-induced psychological and mental distress contributed to declining political trust cross-nationally? Using a large-scale global survey comprising respondents from Africa, Americas, Asia, Middle East, and Europe, the present study addresses this question. Results from multilevel analysis show that across dozens of low- as well as high-income countries, pandemic distress experienced by individuals is negatively linked with political trust (public confidence in the government’s capacity and transparency). Moreover, this relationship is conditional on alternative “performance measures” or contextual moderators: Human Development Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, and Fragile States Index. Specifically, the magnitude of the association between pandemic distress and political distrust increases in countries that are less economically developed, perceived to be more corrupt, and politically more fragile or vulnerable.
KW - coronavirus disease pandemic
KW - government performance
KW - multilevel approach
KW - political trust
KW - psychological distress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133851518&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/14789299221106006
DO - 10.1177/14789299221106006
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85133851518
SN - 1478-9299
JO - Political Studies Review
JF - Political Studies Review
ER -