Vertical and horizontal trust in relation to post-pandemic resilience

Threat and coping appraisal-based pathways across health-crisis contexts and over time

Bibliographic Data

ID21579880
AuthorsLe-Yi Zhang (0009-0004-3099-981X, City University of Hong Kong), Yi-Hui Christine Huang (0000-0002-2621-9700, City University of Hong Kong, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-33
Publication date2026-05-25
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology & Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0887-0446 • E-ISSN: 1476-8321
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08870446.2026.2677079
PMID42183609
OpenAlexW7162334784
LanguageEN
References cited80

OBJECTIVE: This study examines how vertical (institutional) and horizontal (in-group social) trust relate to post-pandemic resilience through threat appraisals (perceived severity and loss-based negative emotions) and coping appraisal (self-efficacy), and whether these associations remain stable across health-crisis contexts and over time. METHODS AND MEASURES: = 694). RESULTS: Across the two cross-sectional datasets, vertical trust was positively associated with resilience through self-efficacy, whereas horizontal trust was positively associated with resilience through self-efficacy but negatively associated through threat appraisals. Equality-constraint tests across two datasets further showed that horizontal trust had stronger associations with resilience and both appraisals than vertical trust, and that its direct and coping appraisals to resilience were more stable across health-crisis contexts. Longitudinally, only intra-pandemic horizontal trust remained positively associated with post-pandemic resilience through coping appraisal, whereas vertical trust showed a limited long-term association. CONCLUSION: The effect of horizontal trust on resilience appears more robust across contexts and time, particularly through self-efficacy, whereas vertical trust appears more contemporaneous and less durable

Horizontal and vertical · Horizontal integration · Psychological resilience · Cultural Differences and Values · Disaster Management and Resilience · Social Capital and Networks

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