Confidence in Context: Macro Historic Events and Change in Confidence in Medicine

• In Event: 3129 - Section on Medical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 6. Attitudes Toward Medical Professionals

Abstract

Recent research has found that since the onset of the 21st century, trust in physicians and confidence in the medical institution as a whole has declined significantly. Though many studies have assessed the diverse determinants of trust in medical practitioners, few studies have examined the antecedents and mechanisms influencing change in individual confidence in medicine over time. This study examines the extent to which structural-historical contexts, such as the 2008 economic recession and the 2010 implementation of the Affordable Care Act, are key instigators of fluctuations in confidence within individuals in the 21st century. I propose three distinct pathways through which macro-level contexts directly and indirectly (through national and individual financial resources) affect confidence in the institution of medicine, two of which are the focal point of analyses. Change in individual confidence over time was assessed using the publicly-available General Social Survey 2006-2010 and 2008-2012 panel data and fixed effects logistic regression. Results indicate that net of individual resources and social-demographic controls, change in temporal context, as measured by an indicator for year, produces a significant reduction in low confidence in the medical institution. This study contributes to present knowledge by simultaneously examining some of the personal and contextual factors driving confidence in a vital social institution. This study also takes advantage of panel data to demonstrate the ways in which individuals’ assessments of institutions are affected by macro-level events.

Author

• Kara Snawder, Indiana University