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 sociodemographic 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.

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Behavioural intentions,E-government,Information security behaviours,Trust

• Computer and Information Sciences - Natural Sciences
• Psychology - Social Sciences