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An Exploratory Study on the Relationship Between Justice and Social Conflict and the Mediating Role of Trust and Communication

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Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the effect of Korean people’s awareness of justice on the level of social conflict and the roles of trust and communication as mediating factors. Using the survey data obtained from 8000 Korean people in 2016, the study’s main findings are the following. First, the average values of justice and social conflict reveal that the respondents thought that Korean society is not fair and that social conflict is a serious issue. Second, the awareness of justice had a positive effect on the factors of trust and communication. This indicates that people who perceived society as fair were also more likely to perceive higher levels of trust and communication. Third, justice was the most influential factor on the level of social conflict, followed by trust in social institutions. Fourth, people’s age, education, and income levels also showed differences in the level of perception of social conflict. Finally, trust in social institutions was a mediating factor in the relationship between justice and social conflict and thus reduced the seriousness of social conflict.

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Declarations

I confirm that this study has no conflict of interest. In addition, this research was funded by Soonchunhyang University and confirms that there is no conflict of interest with Soonchunhyang University. The research data used in this study is a questionnaire survey for 8000 Koreans. It is a data surveyed by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, a national research institute, and is a secondary data released to the public. This survey is carried out annually and confirms that it is recognized by the National Statistical Office. In addition, during the survey, it was confirmed that the researcher received the consent for the survey and the use of the data.

Funding

This work was supported by the Soonchunhyang University Research Fund.

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  1. Department of Public Administration, Soonchunhyang University, Asan-si, South Korea

    Dong-Jin Lim

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  1. Dong-Jin Lim
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Correspondence to Dong-Jin Lim.

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Appendix 1. Survey questions (4-point Likert scale)

Appendix 1. Survey questions (4-point Likert scale)

<Justice Questions>

  1. 1.

    How fair do you think our society is about your next question?

    (1) Law enforcement, (2) political activity, (3) relationship between large companies and middle- and small-sized companies, (4) economic and social distribution structure

<Interpersonal Trust Questions>

  1. 2.

    How much do you trust in the following groups?

    (1) Family, (2) neighbors, (3) acquaintances, (4) strangers, (5) resident foreigners in South Korea

<Trust in Social Institutions Questions>

  1. 3.

    How much do you trust in the following social institutions?

    (1) Non-governmental organizations, (2) TV stations, (3) newspaper companies, (4) educational institutions

<Interpersonal Communication Questions>.

4.How well do you think communication between the following groups is going on in our society?

(1) Family members, (2) fellow workers, (3) neighbors, (4) generations

<Social Conflict Questions>

  1. 5.

    To what extent do you think the following conflicts are serious in our current society?

    (1) Ideology, (2) classes, (3) regions, (4) generations

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Lim, DJ. An Exploratory Study on the Relationship Between Justice and Social Conflict and the Mediating Role of Trust and Communication. Asian J Criminol 16, 183–201 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-020-09332-1

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