engleski

Why Croats do (not) Wear Face Masks: The Role of Conspiracy Mentality, Cultural Capital and Social Distance

The efficacy of face masks has been widely debated in mainstream and fringe mass-media and a large amount of incorrect information has helped to create and spread COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Findings from recent studies suggest that resistance to preventive behaviours can be predicted by beliefs in COVID-19 related conspiracy theories while psychopathy and risk- readiness were negative predictors of wearing a face mask. The aim of this study was to examine the role of conspiracy mentality, cultural capital and social distance in the explanation of face mask perceptions while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. 793 Croatian citizens answered the online questionnaire which included sociodemographic questions, the Face Mask Perceptions Scale, the short Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire, two ad hoc COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs, the Bogardus social distance scale and an adapted short version of Cultural Capital scale. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicate that sex, age, post-graduate education, conspiracy mentality and two ad-hoc conspiracy beliefs have a significant role in the explanation of two reasons for not wearing masks. Namely, older male participants who believe COVID-19 is a hoax and are more prone to conspiracist ideation perceive face masks as a mean of limiting their independence while efficacy doubts about face masks are more expressed in older participants who believe that COVID-19 was human made and is a hoax. Although political orientation and cultural capital were correlated with most of the reasons for not wearing masks they did not contribute significantly to the proposed models. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

COVID-19 ; face masks ; conspiracy mentality ; social distance ; Cultural Capital

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