TY - JOUR
T1 - Charitable Giving in Times of Covid-19: Do Crises Forward the Better or the Worse in Individuals?
AU - Litofcenko, Julia
AU - Meyer, Michael
AU - Neumayr, Michaela
AU - Pennerstorfer, Astrid
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Why did some individuals react to the Covid-19 crisis in a prosocial manner, whereas others withdrew from society? To shed light onto this question, we investigate changing patterns of charitable giving during the pandemic. The study analyzes survey data of 2000 individuals, representative of the populations of Germany and Austria. Logistic regressions reveal that personal affectedness by Covid-19 seems to play a crucial role: those who were personally affected either mentally, financially, or healthwise during the first 12 months of Covid-19 were most likely to have changed their giving behavior. The observed patterns fit psychological explanations of how human beings process existential threats. Our findings indicate that a profound societal crisis in itself mainly leads to changes in charitable giving if individuals are severely affected on a personal level. Thereby, we contribute to a better under- standing of the mechanisms underlying individuals’ charitable giving behavior in times of crisis.
AB - Why did some individuals react to the Covid-19 crisis in a prosocial manner, whereas others withdrew from society? To shed light onto this question, we investigate changing patterns of charitable giving during the pandemic. The study analyzes survey data of 2000 individuals, representative of the populations of Germany and Austria. Logistic regressions reveal that personal affectedness by Covid-19 seems to play a crucial role: those who were personally affected either mentally, financially, or healthwise during the first 12 months of Covid-19 were most likely to have changed their giving behavior. The observed patterns fit psychological explanations of how human beings process existential threats. Our findings indicate that a profound societal crisis in itself mainly leads to changes in charitable giving if individuals are severely affected on a personal level. Thereby, we contribute to a better under- standing of the mechanisms underlying individuals’ charitable giving behavior in times of crisis.
U2 - 10.1007/s11266-023-00558-y
DO - 10.1007/s11266-023-00558-y
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0957-8765
VL - 34
SP - 1322
EP - 1344
JO - VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations
JF - VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations
IS - 6
ER -