I am currently conducting an online survey about public trust in public institutions (including presidency, majors, public schools, public hospitals, municipalities etc.), private companies (utility companies, private schools, private hospitals, internet and mobile phone operators food production and delivery firms etc), and other citizens during the pandemic. so far I have received 400 responses. The questionnaire asks whether the respondent's trust in each institution decreased or increased during the pandemic. (-3: totally lost trust, -2: trust significantly decreased, -1: trust decreased, 0: neither increased nor decreased, 1: trust increased, 2: trust significantly increased, 3: totally increased). The questionnaire also asks whether they believe they will return back to their life styles (economic and social) after the pandemic (totally believe, believe, undecided, dont believe, totally dont believe). Finally there is a question which asks whether the respondent believes the restrictions (social distance, lockdowns, closing schools, curfews) are adequate (options: restrictions not necessary, restrictions must be loosened, no change necessary, restrictions must be increased, restrictions must be increased significantly). İ would be very happy if you could share your opinions about the following questions.
1) Looking at the nature of the answer options, what may be the best method to analyze responses?
2) Would it be appropriate to treat categorical trust answers (-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3) as scale measures (for summing, calculating means, or standardization) for regression?
I would be extremely glad to receive your opinions and recomendations about the study as well. Thank you very much in advance, keep healthy:)