Civic engagement in a health crisis: the role of procedural fairness, trust in public authority, and generalized social beliefs

ABSTRACT

Civic engagement is crucial to society, particularly during a health crisis, but little is known about its antecedents. To address literature gaps, this study explores how procedural fairness, trust in public authority, and generalized social beliefs impact civic engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Macao, China, which accommodates the highest population density globally. We surveyed 1011 Chinese adults (61.2% women; 18–94 years old) by telephone using a two-step cluster random sampling method. As hypothesized, procedural fairness, trust in public authority, and the generalized social beliefs about social complexity positively influenced civic engagement intentions (r = .17 to .32, p < .001; regression: β = .14 to .23, p < .001), mediated by civic engagement attitudes (indirect effect: B = 0.13 to 0.19; β = 0.07 to 0.10; p < .001). Trust in public authority further moderated the effect of procedural fairness on civic engagement attitudes (B = 0.08, β = 0.04, p = .009). Our findings provide a new avenue into understanding the factors underlying civic engagement attitudes and intentions and shed light on tactics for encouraging civic engagement in times of health crisis.

KEYWORDS:

• Civic engagement
• health crisis
• procedural fairness
• social axiom
• trust

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

CRediT authorship contribution statement

KKT: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing – original draft. AMSW: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. EWY: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Resources, Writing – review & editing. JHC: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study. We have complied with the Declaration of Helsinki in treating individuals participating in the research.

Data availability statement

The dataset generated during and/or analysed during the current study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethics approval

This research was approved by the Research Committee – Panel on Research Ethics (Sub-Panel on Social Science & Humanities Research), University of Macau (Reference number: SSHRE20-APP021-FSS).

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT), Macao [Grant number: 0022/2020/A].

Notes on contributors

Kwok Kit Tong

Dr. Kwok Kit Tong is an associate professor of psychology at University of Macau, China. His research, grounded in social psychological theories, focuses on gambling, psychological wellbeing, and procedural fairness. Currently, he is particularly interested in applying social psychological theories to promote psychological wellbeing and health practices, including flourishing and responsible gambling.

Anise M. S. Wu

Dr. Anise M. S. Wu is a professor of psychology at University of Macau, China. Her research interests lie in health and clinical psychology, with a primary focus on the physical and psychological health of Chinese people. She investigates the psychosocial factors and mechanisms underlying psychological distress and disorders as well as health behaviors, such as addictive behaviors, sleep, and vaccination.

Eilo Wing-yat Yu

Dr. Eilo Wing-yat Yu formerly taught government and public administration, as an associate professor, at University of Macau, China. His primary research areas include the government and politics of Macao and Hong Kong, with a specific focus on civil service and public sector reform, e-government and e-politics, party politics, and elections.

Juliet Honglei Chen

Dr. Juliet Honglei Chen is a lecturer of psychology at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China. She aims to elucidate the What, When, and Why concerning interpersonal and intrapersonal processes. Her research addresses attitude and behavior change (e.g., health promotion), addictive behaviors (e.g., gambling and internet gaming), psychological wellbeing (e.g., distress and flourishing), and intergroup relations (e.g., prejudice and discrimination).