Developmental antecedents of young adults' solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic: The role of sympathy, social trust, and peer exclusion from early to late adolescence

Abstract

This study explored characteristics of young adults' solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic by identifying three different profiles, characterized by low (23%), average (54%), and high solidarity (23%). Based on longitudinal Swiss panel data (N_T1 = 797, M_{age T1} = 12.15 years, 51% female; 28% migration background representing diverse ethnicities; N_T2 = 707, M_{age T2} = 15.33 years; N_T3 = 596, M_{age T3} = 18.31 years), the study combined person- and variable-centered approaches to examine whether sympathy, social trust, and peer exclusion at earlier phases in development predicted membership in pandemic-related solidarity profiles (N_T4 = 300, M_{age T4} = 20.33 years). All developmental predictors were significantly associated with the likelihood of expressing solidarity during the pandemic as young adults.