2022-02-14-皮尤-Americans_Trust_in_Scientists,_Other_Groups_Declines_25页_389kb

Main Findings: Americans' trust in scientists, medical scientists, and other groups declined significantly since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with trust in medical scientists dropping from 40% in November 2020 to 29% in December 2021. Scientists also saw a decline from 39% to 29% over the same period.

Partisan Differences: Democrats remain more trusting of medical scientists and scientists than Republicans, with partisan gaps widening since the pandemic began. For example, among Republicans, only 15% had great confidence in medical scientists in 2021 compared to 31% in April 2020. Democrats, however, maintained higher levels of trust.

Other Groups: Trust in groups like the military, K-12 public school principals, and police officers also decreased, indicating a broader trend of declining confidence across various institutions.

Factors Influencing Trust: Higher education and Democratic identification positively correlate with greater trust, while factors such as race and partisanship play roles. For instance, White Democrats expressed higher confidence in medical scientists than Black or Hispanic Democrats. Education differences were more pronounced among Democrats.