Изменчивость ковид-скептических установок в России: результаты анализа двух волн лонгитюдного опроса «Ценности в кризисе»

Мониторинг общественного мнения: Экономические и социальные перемены. 2024. № 2. С. 53–77.

Афанасьева Ю. А., Sokolov B., Shirokanova A.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people, including in Russia, did not take the threat posed by the new virus seriously and ignored basic precautions such as mask wearing and social distancing. Due to the obvious danger that such views and the irresponsible behavior they provoke pose to other people, the phenomenon of COVID skepticism has become an object of close interest among sociologists and public health specialists. However, most existing research on the topic focuses on identifying correlates of COVID skepticism from a static, cross-sectional perspective.

This study is aimed at identifying socio-demographic and personality factors in the variability of individual attitudes towards coronavirus in Russia and tries to reveal the characteristics distinguishing those who cease to be COVID skeptics over time from those whose attitudes change in the opposite direction. For this purpose, the authors use the data from two waves of the Russian part of the longitudinal international online survey “Values in Crisis” (June 2020 and April — May 2021).

The study shows that, in less than a year, the share of skeptics among  those who participated in both waves dropped from 37.4% to 31.6%. Of the panel respondents, 15.4% ceased to be COVID skeptics, and 9.6%, on the contrary, became sceptics. Abandoning a skeptical position is positively associated with age, income, and health-related anxiety. In addition, former skeptics to a greater extent (compared to new ones) support the values of equality and choice (components of Welzel's emancipative values). The transition from a group of non-skeptics to a group of skeptics (as well as vice versa) is also closely associated with a decrease (increase) in institutional trust.

Keywords: emancipative values, conspiracy theories, institutional trust, COVID-19, теории заговора, Schwartz’s basic values, базовые ценности Шварца, эмансипативные ценности, COVID-19, институциональное доверие, COVID-19 skepticism, ковид-скептицизм

Publication based on the results of: Comparative studies of culture: theoretical foundations, methodological problems and applications to problems of socio-economic development (2024)