Examining the role of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs in predicting vaccination intentions, preventive behavior and willingness to share opinions about the coronavirus

Zelič, Žan (author), Berič, Martin (author), Kobal Grum, Darja (author)

The primary aim of our study was to examine the role of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs in predicting outcomes that could potentially worsen the course of the pandemic: preventive behavior, vaccination intentions and willingness to share COVID-19 related opinions. Structural equation modeling was performed on a Slovenian sample (N = 490). Analysis showed that COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs predicted all three health-related outcomes when sociodemographic variables were controlled for. Further, a perceived coronavirus threat was identified as an important mediating factor between conspiracy beliefs, preventive behavior and vaccination intentions. Conspiracy beliefs were also positively associated with age, female gender, religiosity, and share of COVID-19 information from social media, while they were negatively associated with level of education. The results suggest that COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs may be an important barrier to achieving pandemic management goals and highlight some risk factors for their occurrence.

• Language: English
• Keywords: pandemics, epidemics, coronavirus, COVID-19, conspiracy beliefs, preventive health behavior, vaccination, vaccination attitudes, psychology, Trust in science and scientists inventory TSSI, COVID-19, conspiracy beliefs, preventive behavior, vaccination, willingness to share opinions
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 136-153
• Numbering: Vol. 64, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135701
• UDC: 159.9:616-036.22
• ISSN on article: 0039-3320
• DOI: 10.31577/sp.2022.01.844
• COBISS.SI-ID: 101499395
• Publication date in RUL: 29.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Studia psychologica
• Shortened title: Stud. psychol.
• Publisher: Vydavatelstvo SAV
• ISSN: 0039-3320
• COBISS.SI-ID: 26466560

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
• Licensing start date: 16.03.2022

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: pandemije, epidemije, koronavirus, COVID-19, prepričanja v teorije zarote, preventivno zdravstveno vedenje, cepljenje, stališča do cepljenja, psihologija

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0110
• Name: Psihološki in nevroznanstveni vidiki kognicije