Role of Social Identity in Building Solidarity and Well-Being amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Sense of shared group membership can be a powerful socio-psychological tool in mobilising large numbers of people and buffering against uncertainty during a societal crisis. We investigated if ethnic identity can prove as such a resource in preserving emotional well-being and building solidarity to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Using correlational design in Study 1 (N=465), we confirmed that higher ethnic identification predicted less emotional distress and more willingness to help compatriots suffering from the pandemic via higher collective efficacy. Although the same indirect effect was absent in the case of adherence to COVID-19 health guidelines, there was an unexpected direct negative relationship between ethnic identification and adherence to health measures. Aiming to anchor COVID-19 response in a collective narrative, in Study 2 (N=107), we introduced the control and experimental group in which we primed the participants with a widespread historical narrative of Serbian resilience facing an external threat. As expected, the ethnic identity framing manipulation predicted more willingness to help and adherence to health guidelines via collective efficacy, except among low-identifying individuals. The same indirect path predicted lower emotional distress, but unexpectedly not in the group of high-identifying participants. Our results demonstrate that shared identity can be an asset in responding to an epidemiological crisis, yet it can also manifest as an obstacle hindering health behaviour. We discuss the implications of social identity framing in public communication to curb the pandemic without worsening intergroup relations.