Ideology, Institutional Trust, and Social Representation of University Students About the Brazilian Political Scenery from 2016-2017

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test an explanatory theoretical model about the social representations about Brazilian social-political scenario in 2017, based on the following relations: representations were directly influenced by the trust in institutions, and this trust, determined by ideological sympathies. A sample of 164 college students - whose average age was 24 years - answered interval scales. We performed structural equation modeling to test the proposed model. The results indicated: the suitability of the model; two groups of variables presenting positive relations in the in-group comparison and negative relations in the comparisons between groups. The first group showed the variables: Leftist ideas-forces, trust in social movements, evaluation of Dilma’s administration, and evaluation of Leftist policies; the second: Rightist ideas-forces, trust in control institutions, trust in the media, evaluation of Temer’s administration, and evaluation of Leftist policies. In conclusion, the institutional trust and ideological sympathies anchored the social representations of the Brazilian scenery for the studied university population.

Keywords:
Ideology; Institutional Trust; Social Representations; Brazilian Political Scenario; University Students