COVID-19, Diffuse Anxiety, and Public (Mis)Trust in Government: Empirical Insights and Implications for Crime and Justice

Abstract

Given that trust in government is a critical feature of a well-functioning democracy, research into its determinants has long been a priority among public opinion scholars. The consensus in the literature is that short-term factors drive the ebbs and flows of public trust, and a climate of mistrust has significant consequences on the government's ability to deliver on policies and enforce the law. Despite decades of extensive research on public trust, changing circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic support the need to investigate the factors shaping trust in this distinct period. This article, using data from the American National Election Study, explores how economic, social, and political anxieties pervasive throughout the pandemic influence trust in the United States government. Findings from ordered logistic regression analyses indicate that public trust in government is associated with views of the government's COVID-19 response, beliefs about the state of the country and government corruption, economic anxieties, and concerns about election fraud and the status of American democracy. Findings also reveal that sentiments toward institutions—including the police and the Center for Disease Control—contribute to variability in public trust. The implications of these findings for criminal justice research and policy are also considered.

“We Live Our Life Normal”: A Qualitative Analysis of Nigerian Women’s Health-Seeking Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Women’s health, including access to reproductive and maternal healthcare services and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, could be adversely impacted as a result. Studies have found that mistrust of the government affected the adoption of COVID-19 protocols, increasing its prevalence rate [ 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ].…”

White Violence, Black Victims: The Impact of Political and Economic Competition on Interracial Killings in 21st Century America

“…The results of the current study and prior research collectively point to the need for future research to examine potential intergroup conflicts and competition outside the White-Black dichotomy, such as between African Americans and Hispanics. This avenue of research is especially pertinent to the current context of race relations (Bobo, 2017) as the racial-ethnic demographics of the nation continue to shift and as Americans continue to navigate socioeconomic and political challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic (see generally, Reid et al, 2023).…”