Ivanka Pjesivac, Leslie Klein (PhD student), Wenqing Zhao (PhD student),Xuerong Lu (recently graduated PhD student), and Yan Jin. (May 2022). “Factors that impact COVID-19 conspirational beliefs and health-related behaviors.” Poster presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association (ICA). Paris, France.
Abstract: This study seeks to investigate the role of conspiratorial beliefs on health-related behaviors during COVID-19. Via an online survey with 1024 U.S. adults, we found that general belief in conspiracy theories, personal risk perceptions, news media distrust, and vaccine non-confidence are key predictors of COVID-19 conspiratorial beliefs, while COVID-19 vaccine confidence is the best predictor of actual vaccination behavior. Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories mediates the relationship between general beliefs in conspiracy theories and avoidance behaviors.
Abstract: To further investigate the role of conspirational beliefs on health-related behaviors during a health pandemic such as COVID-19, we conducted an online survey among U.S. adults (N = 798) to examine: (1) the strengths of different groups of individual-level variables in predicting conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 and related health behaviors; and (2) the role of beliefs in conspiracy theories about COVID-19 in mediating the relationship between individual differences and COVID-19 health-related behaviors. Our findings provide implications to pandemic communication theory and practice.
Abstract: Conspiracy theories are woven into America’s social and political fabric. While such beliefs help some individuals organize their political world, their popularity also raises concerns about the health of a democracy when those governed also suspect powerful forces work against their interests. The research here examines national survey data to demonstrate such beliefs have both partisan and individual difference explanations. Generic news media exposure offers little explanatory power, but exposure to Fox News programming predicts greater belief in theories critical of Democrats.
