The Relationship of Existential and Economic Concerns With the Trust in Government During the Pandemic

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between people’s existential and economic concerns and their trust in the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, it is aimed to obtain in-depth information about the direction of government-individual relations during the pandemic, how the policies regarding trust in the government during and after the pandemic are perceived, the relationship between the duties and responsibilities assigned to the government and the existential and economic concerns of individuals. In line with these purposes, the method of the study was determined as the explanatory sequential mixed method. In this framework, firstly, quantitative data collection and analysis process was carried out, and qualitative research was carried out with the results obtained from there. According to quantitative findings; As the trust in the government and its institutions increases, there is a regression in the existential concerns of individuals. On the other hand, it has been determined that there is no relationship between gender and trust in the government, but existential concerns are related; there is a significant difference between trust in the government and existential concerns according to work-occupational status; trust in the government and existential concerns decrease as age increases; as religious commitment increases, existential concerns decrease, while trust in the government increases. In addition, it has been observed that there is a significant relationship between the economic concerns of individuals and their trust in the government and their existential concerns. It was understood that the empirical and descriptive analysis results were also supported by the qualitative findings, and it was determined that they largely overlapped with the relevant literature.