Exploring the predictors and the role of trust and concern in the context of data disclosure to governmental institutions

Recently, the number of online databases and the amount of personal information they store have escalated; the potential uses and misuses of these databases have consequently multiplied, and in Europe, there are now calls for a public rediscussion of their legal status. In this context, this paper uses survey data from a Portuguese sample to investigate some psychosocial processes involved in decision-taking related to the disclosure of personal data to governmental institutions. The study tests (1) what societal-level variables (e.g. Post-Materialistic values and System Justification motives) help predict trust and concern felt towards public institutions; (2) whether these societal-level variables are better predictors of disclosure-related decisions than are socio-demographic aspects and knowledge of the legal framework and (3) the capacity of both societal-level variables and trust and concern for predicting the willingness to disclose personal data and to complain about the misuse of data by governmental institutions. Findings show that trust is a key incentive for the disclosure of personal data to governmental institutions and is linked to a more passive engagement with citizenship. Concern, in turn, being negatively linked to system justification and positively to willingness to complain, seems associated with a more active civic citizenship. Implications of this pattern are discussed.