Tillit till offentliga institutioner : En kvantitativ studie av svenskarnas förtroende för offentliga institutioner innan och efter covid-19-pandemin

Sammanfattning

The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe pressure on public institutions and highlighted the importance of institutional trust among citizens, not least in Sweden, where the approach to the pandemic was largely based on individual responsibility. Prior research suggests that crises can affect trust in institutions in various ways, whereas trust appears to be fundamental to citizens' tendency to follow authorities' recommendations. Research shows that trust is not always equally distributed and tends to vary between different groups in society. This study aims to investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected trust in institutions among Swedish citizens, and whether this change varies between different sociodemographic groups in society. The study uses quantitative secondary data from the SOM surveys conducted in 2018 and 2023 to analyse changes in institutional trust before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationships are examined through multiple regression analyses, including gender, age and education. The results indicate that the change in trust and the difference between sociodemographic groups were relatively small after the pandemic. The study contributes to a greater understanding of how crises can affect citizens' trust in institutions.