In Whom Do We Trust? A Multifoci Person-Centered Perspective on Institutional Trust during COVID-19

Lixin Jiang, Erica L. Bettac, Hyun Jung Lee and Tahira M. Probst
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Lixin Jiang: School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Erica L. Bettac: Department of Psychology, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, WA 98686, USA
Hyun Jung Lee: Department of Psychology, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, WA 98686, USA
Tahira M. Probst: Department of Psychology, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, WA 98686, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: Institutional trust plays a crucial role when a nation is facing mega crises (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) and has implications for employee work experiences and well-being. To date, researchers largely consider how institutional trust or trust in government may predict variables of interest in isolation. However, this variable-centered perspective ignores the possibility that there are subpopulations of employees who may differ in their trust in different institutions (i.e., the state government, the federal government). To address this, we examined institutional trust with two foci (i.e., trust in state government and trust in federal government) from a person-centered perspective. Using latent profile analysis and data from 492 U.S.-based employees, we identified five trust profiles: high trustors, federal trustors, state trustors, the ambivalent, and distrusters, and found that these profiles differentially predicted attitudes towards and behavioral compliance with CDC recommended COVID-19 prevention practices, job insecurity, affective commitment, helping behavior, and psychological well-being.

Keywords: institutional trust; latent profile analysis; trust in government; employee attitudes; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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