The psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with anti-systemic attitudes and political violence

https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211031847

Commentary

This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's political attitudes and behaviors, and whether the psychological burden of the pandemic is associated with antisystemic attitudes, peaceful political action, and political violence.

The nationally representative two-wave panel data analyzed online surveys of adults in the United States, Denmark, Italy, and Hungary. (ns = 6,131 and 4,568 for waves 1 and 2, respectively)

These data showed that overall levels of dissident attitudes were low, with only a small percentage of interviewees reporting behavioral intentions and actual participation in political violence.

However, pre-registration analyses showed that the perceived COVID-19 burden was associated with dissident attitudes and intentions to engage in political violence. In the United States, we found less robust evidence that perceived COVID-19 burden was associated with peaceful activism, as it was also associated with self-reported involvement in violence surrounding Black Lives Matter protests and counter-protests.