Schwartz’s Value Model as a Factor of Compliance with Epidemiological Measures in the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Southeast Europe

Abstract

The paper aims to investigate the theoretical assumption that the value system (according to the Schwartz model) is associated with compliance with recommendations to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the theoretical assumption, persons whose value system emphasizes social focus and whose values are self-transcendence and conservation will comply with measures to a greater extent. On the other hand, people whose value system is focused on personal focus and whose values self-direction and openness to change will be less compliant with measures for combating the spread of the virus. The research was conducted in three Southeastern European countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia using a survey of 1024 students. The Schwartz scale on basic human values was used as a research instrument. The research was conducted at the very beginning of the pandemic (March and April 2020). The results of the hierarchical regression showed that the values of openness to change (personal focus) and conservation (social focus) are significant predictors of compliance with measures and trust in institutions and sex.

Trust and compliance: Milieu-specific differences in social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

“…Findings on the relation of socioeconomic status with compliance are rather mixed: positive and negative associations were found (Nivette et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2022 ). Regarding values, self-transcendence is positively related to generalized interpersonal trust (Michalski, 2019 ) and compliance with governmental measures during the pandemic (Lake et al, 2021 ), and conservation (openness) values are positively (negatively) related to institutional trust and compliance (Pavlović Vinogradac et al, 2020 ; Bonetto et al, 2021 ; Cajner Mraović et al, 2021 ). While these bivariate associations are informative, our multidimensional milieu typology allows us to analyze trust and compliance for groups with certain combinations of socioeconomic positions and cultural values.…”