Embodied Uncertainty and COVID-19: Social identity, stigma, trust and coping through the pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a novel and evolving experience impacting health, livelihoods, well-being, decision-making, and community life. While uncertainty is seen as integral to the pandemic experience, limited literature has examined the consequences of the same, as embodied within individual and collective experiences. From the theoretical lens of Embodied Uncertainty (Sword-Daniels et al. 2018), the present study explored meaning making and coping with uncertainty as embodied in the lived experiences of the pandemic, through longitudinal qualitative research (LQR). Participants from a diverse socio demographic pool were interviewed in 2020 (N = 30) and 2021 (N = 14), following the two major phases of Covid-19 outbreak in India. Thematic analysis revealed complex intersections between social identity, stigma and economic strife and how novel coping strategies were being employed as the ongoing nature of the pandemic became a reality. We also found shifts in information seeking and institutional trust, shaped by the lived experiences of people as opposed to policy and state action. The results highlight key areas of vulnerability and coping with uncertainty in collective crises, gaps in state response and its impact, and how social identities shape interpretations of risks.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• embodied uncertainty
• qualitative research
• institutional trust
• stigma
• social media
• coping

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Nivedita Singhal, Ishika Sonal, Riddhi Rai, Sakshi Arora, Paarthvi Raj Singh and other research assistants who helped the authors at various stages of the manuscript writing process. We also thank Belongg Collective who helped us reach out to prospective participants throughout the country. Most importantly we acknowledge the contribution of our participants whose interviews across the two phases informs the understanding of embodied uncertainty as presented in this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors do not have any conflict of interest to report.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding to report for this research.