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The impact of risk perceptions and belief in conspiracy theories on COVID-19 pandemic-related behaviours.
- Source :
-
PloS one [PLoS One] 2022 Feb 08; Vol. 17 (2), pp. e0263716. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Feb 08 (Print Publication: 2022). - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories about the virus spread rapidly, and whilst governments across the globe put in place different restrictions and guidelines to contain the pandemic, these were not universally adhered to. This research examined the association between pandemic related risk perceptions, belief in conspiracy theories, and compliance with COVID-19 public guidelines amongst a UK sample (n = 368). Participants rated their level of concern for a series of potential risks during the pandemic (to the economy, personal health, freedom, media integrity and health risk to others). Participants also rated their level of belief in different conspiracy theories and self-reported their behaviour during the first UK lockdown. Mediational analyses showed that stronger belief in conspiracy theories was associated with perceptions of lower risk to health and higher risk to the economy and freedom, which in turn were associated with lower compliance with COVID-19 related governmental guidelines. Perception of information transparency risks did not mediate the association between belief in conspiracy theories and compliant behaviours. These results highlight the key role that risk perception may play in translating belief in conspiracy theories into low compliance with governmental COVID-19 related guidelines. Our findings suggest new patterns with respect to the relationship between conspiracy theory adherence and salience of different risk perceptions amidst the pandemic, which could have implications for the development of public health messaging and communication interventions.<br />Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
- Subjects :
- Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
COVID-19 prevention & control
COVID-19 virology
Communication
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
SARS-CoV-2
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
COVID-19 psychology
Communicable Disease Control organization & administration
Health Behavior
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Psychological Theory
Social Media statistics & numerical data
Vaccination psychology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1932-6203
- Volume :
- 17
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- PloS one
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 35134100
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263716