Sympathy, Blame, and Just Allocation of Health Costs Entailed by Risky Conventional Lifestyles

Abstract

How does the general public feel about people suffering from lifestyle related conditions, and what do they see as a socially just division health costs for these conditions? Using data from random, nationwide surveys of Australians, 1989-2001 (n=8031) my structural equation model with multiple-item measurement and corrections for attenuation due to random measurement error predicts respondents’ ideal division of medical payment responsibility. The only significant sociodemographic influence is education, which inclines people towards governmental financial responsibility. Cultural and social-psychological factors have large effects. A net time trend favors individual responsibility. Blaming sufferers is strongly associated with favoring individual responsibility. By contrast, people who sympathize with the sufferers tend to favor government payments. Political party preference also matters: Partisans of the main conservative party tend to support individual responsibility. There are clear implications for the current COVID-19 epidemic, especially with regards to “social distancing” behavior.