Trust us, we know what we are doing: institutional trust in Croatia during the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Low levels of trust in institutions in a post-socialist context is a relatively well-documented finding across various disciplines. Building upon this, the paper adds new insights to this discussion by contextualizing institutional trust amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia. Relying on the results from the national probabilistic sample, the authors explore how three sets of predictors – socio-demographic variables, individual characteristics (i.e., motivational orientations of authoritarianism and social dominance), and participants’ experiences during the coronavirus pandemic determine the level of trust in public institutions. Results unequivocally showcase a fairly weak relationship between authoritarianism and social dominance orientation with institutional trust, unlike situational experiences, which play the most significant role in explaining levels of institutional trust. Contrary to authors’ expectations, adherence to measures and worries about catching the COVID-19 disease in the future were not predictive for institutional trust.