Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, compliance with the preventive measures, and trust in government medical officials

Pavela Banai, Irena; Banai, Benjamin; Mikloušić, Igor

doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01898-y

Pregled bibliografske jedinice broj: 1130391

Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, compliance with the preventive measures, and trust in government medical officials

Pavela Banai, Irena; Banai, Benjamin; Mikloušić, Igor

Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, compliance with the preventive measures, and trust in government medical officials // Current psychology, Collection on the COVID-19 Pandemic (2021), -, 11 doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01898-y (međunarodna recenzija, članak, znanstveni)

CROSBI ID: 1130391 Za ispravke kontaktirajte CROSBI podršku putem web obrasca

Naslov
Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, compliance with the preventive measures, and trust in government medical officials

Autori
Pavela Banai, Irena ; Banai, Benjamin ; Mikloušić, Igor

Izvornik
Current psychology (1046-1310) Collection on the COVID-19 Pandemic (2021); 11

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
COVID-19 ; conspiracy theories ; compliance

Sažetak
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a global health crisis, so adherence to government guidelines and public health advice is critical in reducing transmission rates. Despite this, it has been reported that a minority of people do not comply with the governmental guidelines. When considering the reasons why some people do not comply with preventive measures, previous studies have shown that beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories negatively predict responsible pandemic- related behaviour. This, in turn, could seriously undermine success in combating the pandemic. Our aim was, therefore, to further investigate the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and adherence to official COVID-19 medical guidelines by including mediating roles of beliefs in pseudoscientific information and trust in government officials. A total of 1882 adults from Croatia provided sociodemographic information and completed several scales related to COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, beliefs in pseudoscientific information, trust in government officials, and adherence to official COVID-19 guidelines. A multiple mediation analysis revealed a direct negative effect of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs on compliance with the preventive measures. In addition, conspiracy beliefs were indirectly related to compliance via trust in government officials. The present study builds upon emerging research showing that conspiracy beliefs may have significant social consequences and pose a potential risk to public health. Practical implications of these findings are discussed further.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA

Ustanove:
Institut društvenih znanosti Ivo Pilar, Zagreb,
Sveučilište u Zadru

Profili:

Benjamin Banai (autor)