In the context of an analysis project related to the SOEP-CoV study (for further information see: www.soep-cov.de ) researchers of the Institute of Sociology of the University of Tübingen (Dr. Volker Lang und Prof. Martin Groß) cooperate with researchers of the DIW Berlin and Bielefeld University (Prof. Simon Kühne und Marvin Bürmann).

Social policy is intended not least as a form of institutionalized solidarity to help overcome social crises. Crisis situations such as the Corona pandemic show the extent to which state regulations fulfill this solidarity function. Moreover, experienced and perceived solidarity are important determinants of individual evaluations of social cohesion in societies. Following on from this, the project examines the extent to which evaluations of political measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic influence assessments of social cohesion in Germany.

Initial analyses using SOEP-CoV data representative of Germany show that concerns about societal cohesion decline during the 1st wave phase of the Corona pandemic in spring 2020 compared to the period before. Furthermore, positive perceptions of political action to contain the pandemic as well as of the state of the health and economic system lead to greater confidence in societal cohesion - also controlling for concerns about one's own health and financial situation. In addition, the evaluation of political crisis management during the Corona pandemic is shown to play a key moderating role with respect to the relationship between concerns about economic development and evaluations of social cohesion.

In perspective, with the second survey wave of the SOEP-CoV study in 2021 the research cooperation will also focus on the temporal stability of the observed relationships over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.