ABSTRACT
Аbstract. In this study, we explore how various socio-demographic attributes, personality traits, values, and attitudes of COVID-19 skeptics differ from those of the rest of the Russian population. We use data collected during the first round of the international online panel survey “Values in Crisis” (in short ViC;fieldwork mid-June 2020, N = 1527). We operationalize COVID-skepticism as support for the idea that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax and that all the lock-down measures are a hysterical overreaction, indicated by 38% of our respondents. Basic descriptive tests show that male, middle-aged, and less educated respondents are more likely to express skeptical views of the pandemic. The direct experience of the disease, quite predictably, decreases the likelihood of being coronaskeptic, whereas encountering negative economic consequences of the pandemic has the reverse effect. Interestingly, no systematic differences between skeptics and non-skeptics in the “Big-5” personality traits are visible in our data. At the same time, the coronaskeptic group has consistently lower scores on Schwarz's conservation values and higher scores on openness to change values. COVID-19 skeptics also tend to oppose globalization, international cooperation, and migration. They are slightly less trusting of other people and traditional media, less proud of being Russian citizens, but do not differ from non-skeptics in terms of religiosity. Perhaps the most striking finding is that this group demonstrates much lower levels of confidence in government, health system, and national institutions, and also evaluates the government's performance in handling the COVID-19 crisis much more critically. © 2021 Russian Public Opinion Research Center, VCIOM. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the association between changes in the labor market status and subjective well-being of Russians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The materials of the first stage of the international project "Values in crisis" form the empirical dataset. Regression analysis shows that individuals who lost their jobs or closed their business during the initial period of the pandemic are somewhat less satisfied with their lives than those who did not. Being reduced to part-time work and working from home are not directly related to subjective well-being. At the same time, the strength of the association between subjective well-being and possible changes of the labor market status depends on such factors as the presence of children, as well as the value of self-enhancement (according to Schwartz) and conscientiousness (one of the Big Five personality-traits). The job or business loss is associated with a decrease in subjective well-being among respondents without children;this association is not observed among those with children. In addition, the negative relationship between life satisfaction and job or business loss is stronger among individuals with high level of self-enhancement and weaker among those with high level of conscientiousness. Among respondents who had to switch to part-time or remote work, having children reduces the level of subjective well-being;among those without such experience, it is positively associated with subjective well-being.