ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the public sphere related to the pandemic, and it does so from a twofold perspective: risk communication and compliance with public policies. First, the chapter will discuss our respondents’ perceptions of the reliability and trustworthiness of communication channels during the pandemic; the analysis focuses on information sources such as newspapers, the Internet, radio, and television, and on the communications activities implemented by institutions, media, and other social actors. Then the focus will move toward respondents’ agreement with the measures of contrast, containment, and social protection implemented by institutional actors, at both the national and the regional level. Finally, the distinctive elements of these three dimensions will be summarized in various indices that will enrich the interpretative scheme linked to the ontological dimensions discussed in Chapter 4. The final results show how the interconnection between public and private spheres has an impact on the adoption of protective behaviors and the formation of specific risk profiles.
