Sustaining Political Trust Amid Crisis: An Exploratory Analysis of Loneliness and Democratic Attitudes in Belgium and Taiwan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Frank Cheng-shan Liu ； Leen d'Haenens ； Jinhyeok Jang ； David De Coninck ； Yihuang Kang

《Taiwan Journal of Democracy》 Volume 21 Issue 2 (2025/12) Pp. 53-82

Abstracts

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to democratic governance, revealing vulnerabilities in political trust and institutional legitimacy. This study examines the relationship between loneliness, a psychological consequence of prolonged social isolation, and its impact on political trust and perceptions of democracy during times of crisis. Using survey data from Belgium (2021) and Taiwan (2022), this paper examines the distinct cultural and institutional contexts of individualist and collectivist democracies. Employing multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), latent associations between loneliness, trust in governmental measures, partisanship, and perceptions of democratic resilience are identified. The findings reveal divergent patterns. In Belgium, loneliness undermines trust in government policies but has a limited impact on perceptions of democracy. Conversely, in Taiwan, loneliness correlates with heightened concerns about democratic vulnerability and partisan divides. These results underscore the dual influence of psychological and cultural factors on democratic resilience during crises. By highlighting the interplay between mental health and political attitudes, this research contributes to understanding how democracies navigate non-electoral challenges. The study offers theoretical insights and practical implications for fostering political trust and institutional legitimacy during periods of upheaval.

Keywords

exploratory data analysis ； loneliness ； pandemic ； partisanship ； political trust

References

Jost, John T.,Federico, Christopher M.,Napier, Jaime L.(2009).Political Ideology: Its Structure, Functions, and Elective Affinities.Annual Review of Psychology.60(1),308.

Bill Chappell, “In Their Own Words: How COVID Changed America,” NPR (March 10, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/03/10/nx-s1-5321040/covid-19-pandemic-five-years-later (accessed March 11, 2025).

Chen, Chi-mai(2020).Containing COVID-19 Among 627,386 Persons in Contact With the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Passengers Who Disembarked in Taiwan: Big Data Analytics.Journal of Medical Internet Research.22(5),e19540.

Wang, Cuiyan(2020).A Longitudinal Study on the Mental Health of General Population during the COVID-19 Epidemic in China.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.87,40-48.

OECD(2021).OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2021 Issue 1: Preliminary Version.OECD World Enters Next Covid Phase Bloomberg.