Longitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in Brazil
<p><strong>Background:</strong> While political polarization in policy opinions, preferences, and observance is well established, little is known about whether and how such divisions evolve, and possibly attenuate, over time. Using the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil as the ba...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024
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| _version_ | 1826312898917433344 |
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| author | Furst, R Goldszmidt, R Andrade, EB Vieites, Y Andretti, B Ramos, GA |
| author_facet | Furst, R Goldszmidt, R Andrade, EB Vieites, Y Andretti, B Ramos, GA |
| author_sort | Furst, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p><strong>Background:</strong> While political polarization in policy opinions, preferences, and observance is well established, little is known about whether and how such divisions evolve, and possibly attenuate, over time. Using the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil as the backdrop, we examine the longitudinal evolution of a highly relevant and polarizing policy: adherence to the COVID-19 vaccination.</p>
<p><strong>Methods:</strong> Studies 1 (N = 3346) and 2 (N = 10,214) use nationwide surveys to document initial differences and subsequent changes in vaccination adherence between conservatives ("Bolsonaristas") and non-conservatives ("non-Bolsonaristas"). Study 3 (N = 742) uses an original dataset to investigate belief changes among conservatives and their association with asymmetric changes in vaccination adherence.</p>
<p><strong>Results:</strong> Despite substantial differences at the early stages of rollout, the gap in vaccination adherence between conservatives and non-conservatives significantly decreased with the passage of time, driven essentially by a much faster uptake among the initially most skeptic—the conservatives. Study 3 demonstrates that the asymmetric changes in vaccination adherence were associated with meaningful belief changes among the conservatives, especially about the perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines and the expected adherence of peers to the vaccination campaign.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Together, these studies show that, in a context where the superiority of the promoted policy becomes clear over time and individuals have the opportunity to revisit prior beliefs, even intense political polarization can be attenuated.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:02:23Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:c8d23674-c4d4-4d47-a230-6b19ef9a3425 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:02:23Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:c8d23674-c4d4-4d47-a230-6b19ef9a34252024-04-30T10:24:17ZLongitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in BrazilJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:c8d23674-c4d4-4d47-a230-6b19ef9a3425EnglishSymplectic ElementsElsevier2024Furst, RGoldszmidt, RAndrade, EBVieites, YAndretti, BRamos, GA<p><strong>Background:</strong> While political polarization in policy opinions, preferences, and observance is well established, little is known about whether and how such divisions evolve, and possibly attenuate, over time. Using the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil as the backdrop, we examine the longitudinal evolution of a highly relevant and polarizing policy: adherence to the COVID-19 vaccination.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Studies 1 (N = 3346) and 2 (N = 10,214) use nationwide surveys to document initial differences and subsequent changes in vaccination adherence between conservatives ("Bolsonaristas") and non-conservatives ("non-Bolsonaristas"). Study 3 (N = 742) uses an original dataset to investigate belief changes among conservatives and their association with asymmetric changes in vaccination adherence.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Despite substantial differences at the early stages of rollout, the gap in vaccination adherence between conservatives and non-conservatives significantly decreased with the passage of time, driven essentially by a much faster uptake among the initially most skeptic—the conservatives. Study 3 demonstrates that the asymmetric changes in vaccination adherence were associated with meaningful belief changes among the conservatives, especially about the perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines and the expected adherence of peers to the vaccination campaign.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Together, these studies show that, in a context where the superiority of the promoted policy becomes clear over time and individuals have the opportunity to revisit prior beliefs, even intense political polarization can be attenuated.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Furst, R Goldszmidt, R Andrade, EB Vieites, Y Andretti, B Ramos, GA Longitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in Brazil |
| title | Longitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in Brazil |
| title_full | Longitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Longitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Longitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in Brazil |
| title_short | Longitudinal attenuation in political polarization: evidence from COVID-19 vaccination adherence in Brazil |
| title_sort | longitudinal attenuation in political polarization evidence from covid 19 vaccination adherence in brazil |
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