PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

What Should I do and Who's to blame? A cross-national study on youth's attitudes and beliefs in times of COVID-19.

  • Elisabeth L De Moor,
  • Ting-Yu Cheng,
  • Jenna E Spitzer,
  • Christian Berger,
  • Alexia Carrizales,
  • Claire F Garandeau,
  • Maria Gerbino,
  • Skyler T Hawk,
  • Goda Kaniušonytė,
  • Asiye Kumru,
  • Elisabeth Malonda,
  • Anna Rovella,
  • Yuh-Ling Shen,
  • Laura K Taylor,
  • Maarten van Zalk,
  • Susan Branje,
  • Gustavo Carlo,
  • Laura Padilla Walker,
  • Jolien Van der Graaff

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279366
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 12
p. e0279366

Abstract

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The COVID-19 crisis has had a major impact on youth. This study examined factors associated with youth's attitudes towards their government's response to the pandemic and their blaming of individuals from certain risk groups, ethnic backgrounds, and countries or regions. In a sample of 5,682 young adults (Mage = 22) from 14 countries, lower perceived burden due to COVID-19, more collectivistic and less individualistic values, and more empathy were associated with more positive attitudes towards the government and less blaming of individuals of certain groups. Youth's social identification with others in the pandemic mediated these associations in the same direction, apart from the COVID-19 burden on attitudes, which had a positive indirect effect. No evidence of country-level moderation was found.