Percezioni dell’inciviltà politica: fattori predittivi dall’area politica e mediale.

Political incivility is a pervasive phenomenon in contemporary democracies, yet research has predominantly focused on socio-demographic and media factors to explain public perceptions, overlooking the relationship between citizens and politics. This study addresses this gap by examining how trust in democratic institutions, political efficacy, and anti-political attitudes influence evaluations of political elites’ uncivil behaviors in Italy, a context marked by widespread political disaffection. Using a representative population survey conducted at the end of the 2024 European Elections, the research reveals the crucial role of democratic trust and political efficacy in heightening sensitivity to elite incivility. Contrary to expectations, anti-political attitudes do not directly affect incivility perceptions, suggesting that in a context of generalized distrust and political malaise, anti-politics has become a cross-cutting sentiment, limiting its utility as a predictor of differential sensitivity to uncivil behaviors. Beyond political predictors, the study examines media consumption patterns, revealing contrasting effects: while intensive social media use for political purposes creates desensitization to inflammatory rhetoric and norm-violating behaviors, news avoidance also diminishes the capacity to detect uncivil expressions.