Emotions and need for trust in times of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Aim. Since the Novel Coronavirus made its appearance in 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei, arousing alarm and concerns in health authorities and governments around the world, the changes that our lives have undergone have proved epochal. Within a few weeks, habits, quality and rhythms of our daily life have been deeply upset and destabilized. This research configures a cross-sectional study while, through a sociological approach, investigating precisely the relationships between emotions induced by the Covid-19 pandemic (such as fear, anger, sadness and joy) and dimension of people’s expectations and motivations. Results. The results of the research, carried out with reference to the first Italian lockdown (march-june 2020), on a sample of 538 Italian citizens, reveal a certain pervasive sense of vulnerability within target population, whose health and life is put at risk, and therefore asks for reliable and efficient institutions they can trust. Conclusions. Research shows that people, feeling fear and a sense of vulnerability in the face of emergencies and situations that pose a serious risk to health and life, ask to be able to trust reliable and efficient institutions, whose task is to ensure security and well-being, protection and support.