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

Child Dev. 2021 Sep;92(5):e832-e850. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13660. Epub 2021 Aug 31.

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 (NT1 = 797, Mage T1 = 12.15 years, 51% female; 28% migration background representing diverse ethnicities; NT2 = 707, Mage T2 = 15.33 years; NT3 = 596, Mage 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 (NT4 = 300, Mage T4 = 20.33 years). All developmental predictors were significantly associated with the likelihood of expressing solidarity during the pandemic as young adults.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • COVID-19*
  • Child
  • Emotions
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pandemics*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Trust
  • Young Adult