The COVID-19 Pandemic, Authoritarianism, and Rejection of Sexual Dissenters in Poland

In Poland, both, gender hierarchy restricting women's sexuality and heteronormativity are rooted in traditional "family values" supported by the teachings of the Polish Catholic Church and attached to Polish national identity. Dissenters to traditional norms regulating gender and sexual relations are rejected as a threat to social order and national unity. Latent growth curve modeling performed on data from a 3-wave longitudinal study indicated linear, interrelated increases in authoritarianism; a desire for national cohesion; and rejection of sexual dissenters in the nationally representative sample of Polish participants (N = 889) as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic unfolded in Poland. Data were collected before and during the outbreak of the pandemic allowing us to link the changes in social attitudes to this naturally occurring threat. Cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that authoritarianism predicted desire for national cohesion, which resulted in rejection of dissenters. These results are in line with theoretical models of authoritarianism as a response to threat. They are also in line with findings linking death anxiety and the threat of infectious disease to increases in authoritarianism, traditional worldview defense, in-group cohesion and sexual restrictiveness. Public Significance Statement This study found that the average level of authoritarianism-a tendency to follow coercive leaders and traditional social norms-increased in response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Poland. This increase was followed by the amplified emphasis on national cohesion and resulted in the rejection of dissenters to traditional sexual norms. This suggests that the rights of sexual minorities and gender equality may be at risk in Poland during the times of increased threat of infectious disease.