Societal Threat to Safety, Compensatory Control, and Right‐Wing Authoritarianism

We analyzed directly and indirectly the relationships between societal threat to safety, perceived control, and the increase in right‐wing authoritarianism ( RWA ) in two studies. In Study 1 (national sample of the Italian population, N   =  1,169), we performed a longitudinal analysis structured into three waves ( J anuary 2003, S eptember 2004, and J anuary 2005). A moderated regression analysis showed that RWA increased from 2003 to 2005 as a function of perceived societal threat to safety more among low‐ than among high RWA scorers. In experimental Study 2 (Italian university students, N   =  131) a moderated mediation model showed loss of perceived control to mediate the relation between societal threat to safety and the increase in RWA , but among low authoritarians only. Limitations, implications, and possible developments of this research are discussed.