Political attitude change over time following COVID-19 lockdown: Rallying effects and differences between left and right voters.

Restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 have required widespread compliance over long periods, but citizens' attitudes to these often change over time. Here, we examine the time course of political attitudes in New Zealand over the months before and after the announcement of the country's first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 using a large-scale national survey (Ns = 41,831-42,663). Government satisfaction increased immediately following the lockdown announcement and remained elevated 5 months later. Trust in institutions and political efficacy also increased gradually over the same period. However, these trends varied by political party vote: Compared to center-left voters who supported the largest governing party, center-right voters who supported the opposition party returned to baseline levels of government satisfaction quicker and showed more pronounced dips in their satisfaction with the economy. These same attitudes also predicted compliance with COVID-19 guidelines. Results illustrate a rally-around-the-flag effect during the pandemic and suggest that support wanes faster among center-right (opposition party) voters.

Democracy and belief in conspiracy theories in New Zealand

The COVID-19 pandemic supercharged the spread of fake news, misinformation, and conspiracy theories worldwide. Using a national probability sample of adults from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study during 2020 (17–99 years old;M = 48.59, SD = 13.86;63% women, 37% men;N = 41,487), we examined the associations between agreement with general conspiracy beliefs and political indicators of intention to vote and satisfaction with government, alongside political factors including trust in politicians, political efficacy, identity centrality, and political ideology. Left-wing political ideology, trust in politicians, and political efficacy accounted for most of the explained variance in satisfaction with the government. General conspiracy belief was also a unique contributor to lower satisfaction with the government. We also found a curvilinear relationship between political ideology with heightened belief in conspiracies at both ideological extremes and the centre. Findings are discussed in terms of the consequences of conspiracy belief on democratic engagement. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Australian Journal of Political Science is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Socio-political efficacy explains increase in New Zealanders' pro-environmental attitudes due to COVID-19.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic claimed millions of lives and caused unprecedented disruptions. Despite these negative impacts, there is optimism the pandemic may shift public opinion on other global crises by fostering a sense of collective efficacy. Using propensity score matching to compare New Zealanders assessed before (n =12,304) and after (n = 12,370) nationwide lockdowns in 2020, we tested a preregistered mediation model with COVID-19 lockdown experience predicting increases in pro-environmental attitudes via enhanced socio-political efficacy. As hypothesized, socio-political efficacy increased after the successful nationwide lockdowns. In turn, socio-political efficacy amplified respondents' pro-environmental attitudes including climate beliefs and concern, as well as support for a government subsidy for public transport and opposition to government spending on new motorways. The pandemic also enhanced respondents' satisfaction with the quality of the natural environment, which was unmediated by socio-political efficacy. The crisis might offer an opportunity to foster collective pro-environmental actions.

Monthly Trends in the Life Events Reported in the Prior Year and First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in New Zealand.

The current study examines changes in the economic, social, and well-being life events that women and men reported during the first 7 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyses compared monthly averages in cross-sectional national probability data from two annual waves of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study collected between October 2018-September 2019 (N = 17,924), and October 2019-September 2020 (N = 41,653), which included the first 7 months of the pandemic (Mar-Sep 2020). Results indicated that people (particularly women) reported increased job loss in the months following an initial COVID-19 lockdown relative to the same months the year earlier. Women also experienced an increase in family troubles when restrictions eased and reported increased negative lifestyle changes that persisted throughout the first 7 months of the pandemic. The proportion of people experiencing many other life events (e.g., mental health, financial concerns) in New Zealand did not differ reliably from the pre-pandemic monthly baseline. These results highlight resilience to many potential negative life events within the first 7 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic did not affect everyone equally, and the burden of increased negative events appears more heavily borne by women. As the pandemic continues more than 18 months from initial community transmission of COVID-19, our findings provide important insight into the impact of the pandemic on potential negative life events, especially among women, that may have critical consequences for mental health, gender equality, and social well-being over time.

Socio-political efficacy explains increase in New Zealanders’ pro-environmental attitudes due to COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic claimed millions of lives and caused unprecedented disruptions. Despite these negative impacts, there is optimism the pandemic may shift public opinion on other global crises by fostering a sense of collective efficacy. Using propensity score matching to compare New Zealanders assessed before (n =12,304) and after (n = 12,370) nationwide lockdowns in 2020, we tested a preregistered mediation model with COVID-19 lockdown experience predicting increases in pro-environmental attitudes via enhanced socio-political efficacy. As hypothesized, socio-political efficacy increased after the successful nationwide lockdowns. In turn, socio-political efficacy amplified respondents’ pro-environmental attitudes including climate beliefs and concern, as well as support for a government subsidy for public transport and opposition to government spending on new motorways. The pandemic also enhanced respondents’ satisfaction with the quality of the natural environment, which was unmediated by socio-political efficacy. The crisis might offer an opportunity to foster collective pro-environmental actions.

Emotion regulation and psychological and physical health during a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

The current research tests the links between emotion regulation and psychological and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, parents (N = 365) who had reported on their psychological and physical health prior to the pandemic completed the same health assessments along with their use of emotion regulation strategies when confined in the home with their school-aged children during a nationwide lockdown. In Study 2, individuals (N = 1,607) from a nationally representative panel study completed similar measures of psychological and physical health and use of emotion regulation strategies one-year prior to the lockdown and then again during the lockdown. Accounting for prepandemic psychological health, greater rumination and emotional suppression were independently associated with poorer psychological health (greater depressive symptoms and psychological distress, lower emotional and personal well-being), even when controlling for the emotional challenges of the pandemic (emotion control difficulties, perceived support; Studies 1 and 2) and a range of demographic covariates (Study 2). Greater rumination was also associated with greater fatigue in both studies, but greater rumination and emotional suppression were only independently associated with poorer perceptions of physical health in Study 2. The results for cognitive reappraisal were mixed; positive associations with personal well-being and general health only emerged in Study 2. The results provide evidence that key models in affective science help explain differences in psychological and physical health within the throes of a real-world demanding context and thus offer targets to help facilitate health and resilience during the pandemic (and other crises). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown on trust, attitudes toward government, and well-being.

The contagiousness and deadliness of COVID-19 have necessitated drastic social management to halt transmission. The immediate effects of a nationwide lockdown were investigated by comparing matched samples of New Zealanders assessed before (Nprelockdown = 1,003) and during the first 18 days of lockdown (Nlockdown = 1,003). Two categories of outcomes were examined: (a) institutional trust and attitudes toward the nation and government and (b) health and well-being. Applying propensity score matching to approximate the conditions of a randomized controlled experiment, the study found that people in the pandemic/lockdown group reported higher trust in science, politicians, and police, higher levels of patriotism, and higher rates of mental distress compared to people in the prelockdown prepandemic group. Results were confirmed in within-subjects analyses. The study highlights social connectedness, resilience, and vulnerability in the face of adversity and has applied implications for how countries face this global challenge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).