Abstract
Background: The endorsement of Conspiracy Beliefs concerning corona (CBc) may make people reject information from the general media, leading them to not follow recommendations on prevention behaviours, getting tested, and getting vaccinated. The aim of the present study was to understand the relationship between CBc and engaging in these corona-related behaviours.Method: Two samples of participants (N = 1,004 and N = 159) were recruited independently. Participants filled in a survey that assessed four indicators of the three behaviours, four general psychological determinants (e.g., the seriousness of COVID-19), five behaviour-specific psychological determinants (e.g., test reliability, vaccine effectiveness), and CBc.Results: The explained variances of the different models with regard to the four indicators of behaviour ranged from 3.9 to 75%. Mediation analyses using Hayes PROCESS model 4 showed significant mediation by general determinants in both samples, and mediation by several behaviour-specific determinants in one sample.Discussion: Conspiracy Beliefs concerning corona may lead to rejection of general media information, and this may lead to states of psychological determinants that do not stimulate to engage in prevention behaviours, testing, or vaccination. The present study shedS some light on how CBc could be related to corona-related behaviours.
Highlights
The thinking and behaviour of individuals are essential determinants of the pandemic (Drinkwater et al, 2021): When all people would engage optimally in all the recommended behaviours, the pandemic would be stopped soon
Sample 1: Among the 1,004 people in this sample, 50.4% were women, 65.3% were classified as having a high level of education, 49.4% reported to have been tested for COVID-19, of whom 13.5% (n = 67) was tested positive
Sample 2: Among the 159 people in this sample, 68% were women, 79% were classified as having a high level of education, 49% reported to have been tested for COVID-19, of whom 6% (n = 5) was tested positive
Summary
The thinking and behaviour of individuals are essential determinants of the pandemic (Drinkwater et al, 2021): When all people would engage optimally in all the recommended behaviours, the pandemic would be stopped soon. The aim of the present study was to understand how, in the context of the role of the general media in the present corona-crisis, these conspiracy beliefs might determine these three behaviours. Conspiracy beliefs about the present corona-crisis have been identified. The endorsement of Conspiracy Beliefs concerning corona (CBc) may make people reject information from the general media, leading them to not follow recommendations on prevention behaviours, getting tested, and getting vaccinated. The General Determinants Susceptibility was assessed with the question: “How high is the chance (%) that in the coming 3 months you will get ill from the coronavirus?”. Seriousness was assessed with the question: “How bad is it to get contaminated and get ill because of the coronavirus?”. The answering options were: “Never” (1); “Seldom” (2); “Sometimes” (3); “Regularly” (4); “Often” (5); “Very often” (6); “Always” (7)
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