Dynamics of trust in science among digitised publics: A two-wave panel study identifying trust groups during the COVID-19 pandemic

Given the increased significance of public trust in science, unanswered questions arise about which trust groups exist within the public, how they vary in their use of science-related (digital) media and how they may have changed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined public trust in science in Germany through a two-wave panel survey (nw1 = 4,440; nw2 = 1,028). Five distinct trust groups were identified in a Latent Profile Analysis based on evaluations of scientists’ expertise, integrity, benevolence, transparency and dialogue orientation. The groups showed similar patterns of trust, with high values for expertise in each case, but at varying levels. The groups further differed in terms of contact with science. After one year, the data revealed a tendency towards a moderate level of trust in science, with fully and highly trusting groups experiencing decreased trust and (rather) untrusting groups seeing an increase. The results may indicate a return to the mean as a waning pandemic effect and underscore the pivotal role of the pandemic as a collective key event in shaping public trust in science.