We are All in This Together: The Comparison of Coronavirus' Experiences in Croatia and Other European Countries

Uzelac, E.; Cepulic, D. B.; Palic, P.

Different countries were successful in different ways in their attempts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which compromised the health of many people. Stress levels rose and the restrictive measures impacted the citizens' trust in institutions. An important resource for managing crises is a country's economic growth. Given that the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is one indicator of economic growth, the goal of this study is to investigate the differences in perceived stress and trust in institutions between European countries categorized into below-average, average and above-average GDP per capita levels during the coronavirus pandemic. The analyses of N = 84,080 participants from 29 countries gathered via an online survey showed that citizens of higher-level GDP per capita countries experienced less stress and had more trust in institutions. Compared to the average level, Croatian citizens experienced somewhat higher stress and had somewhat higher trust in the government's measures. These results imply that economic growth is one of the country-level factors associated with the quality of managing the coronavirus pandemic.