Has the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened confidence in managing the climate crisis? Transfer of efficacy beliefs after experiencing lockdowns in Switzerland and Austria.

ABSTRACT: In the spring of 2020, countries introduced lockdowns as radical measures to deal with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to strong disruptions of people's everyday lives. Such drastic collective measures had previously seemed inconceivable in relation to other urgent crises, such as the climate crisis. In this paper, we ask how individual, participatory, and collective efficacy beliefs in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic transferred to efficacy beliefs regarding the climate crisis. We present comparative results from two surveys: Study 1 assesses efficacy beliefs among German-speaking Swiss residents (n = 1,016), shortly after lockdown measures were relaxed. Study 2 compares changes in efficacy beliefs among Austrian high school students (n = 113) before an

SUBMITTER: Moser S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9589406 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature