TY - JOUR
T1 - What Is the Flag We Rally Around? Trust in Information Sources at the Outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia
AU - Rožukalne, Anda
AU - Kleinberga, Vineta
AU - Tīfentāle, Alise
AU - Strode, Ieva
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Latvian Council of Science, as part of the project ?Life with COVID-19: Evaluation of overcoming the coronavirus crisis in Latvia and recommendations for societal resilience in the future? (grant number VPP-COVID-2020/1-0013).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/3/11
Y1 - 2022/3/11
N2 - Trust in information sources about COVID-19 may influence the public attitude toward the disease and the imposed restrictions, thus determining the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in a given country. Acknowledging an increase in trust in the government or the so-called rally ‘round the flag’ effect around the world at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study explores possible determinants of this effect in Latvia, looking at such variables as the perceived disease risk, gender, age, education, income, and language spoken in the family. Presuming that risk perception may be amplified by trust in various information sources, we investigate a spill-over of the rally ‘round the flag’ effect on healthcare professionals, media, and interpersonal networks. Studying data from a nationally representative sociological survey conducted in September 2020, we confirm a positive relationship between trust in all information sources, except friends, relatives, and colleagues, and perceived disease risk. Correlations are also strong regarding trust in almost all information sources and the measured socio-demographic variables, except gender. Interpersonal trust seems to be relatively stable, and in most cases the correlations are statistically insignificant. With this study we suggest that increase in trust in government institutions as well as other information sources, even in crisis situations, does not depend on any single element, but instead presents a more complex phenomenon.
AB - Trust in information sources about COVID-19 may influence the public attitude toward the disease and the imposed restrictions, thus determining the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in a given country. Acknowledging an increase in trust in the government or the so-called rally ‘round the flag’ effect around the world at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study explores possible determinants of this effect in Latvia, looking at such variables as the perceived disease risk, gender, age, education, income, and language spoken in the family. Presuming that risk perception may be amplified by trust in various information sources, we investigate a spill-over of the rally ‘round the flag’ effect on healthcare professionals, media, and interpersonal networks. Studying data from a nationally representative sociological survey conducted in September 2020, we confirm a positive relationship between trust in all information sources, except friends, relatives, and colleagues, and perceived disease risk. Correlations are also strong regarding trust in almost all information sources and the measured socio-demographic variables, except gender. Interpersonal trust seems to be relatively stable, and in most cases the correlations are statistically insignificant. With this study we suggest that increase in trust in government institutions as well as other information sources, even in crisis situations, does not depend on any single element, but instead presents a more complex phenomenon.
KW - COVID-19
KW - rally round the flag effect
KW - trust in government
KW - trust in media
KW - trust in healthcare professionals
KW - interpersonal trust
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126811343&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/socsci11030123
DO - 10.3390/socsci11030123
M3 - Article
SN - 0134-5486
VL - 11
JO - Social Sciences
JF - Social Sciences
IS - 3
M1 - 123
ER -