Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine
Abstract Background We investigated if people’s response to the official recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with conspiracy beliefs related to COVID-19, a distrust in the sources providing information on COVID-19, and an endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine (...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10643-w |
| _version_ | 1818329491320078336 |
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| author | Anna Soveri Linda C. Karlsson Jan Antfolk Mikael Lindfelt Stephan Lewandowsky |
| author_facet | Anna Soveri Linda C. Karlsson Jan Antfolk Mikael Lindfelt Stephan Lewandowsky |
| author_sort | Anna Soveri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background We investigated if people’s response to the official recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with conspiracy beliefs related to COVID-19, a distrust in the sources providing information on COVID-19, and an endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Methods The sample consisted of 1325 Finnish adults who filled out an online survey marketed on Facebook. Structural regression analysis was used to investigate whether: 1) conspiracy beliefs, a distrust in information sources, and endorsement of CAM predict people’s response to the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) conspiracy beliefs, a distrust in information sources, and endorsement of CAM are related to people’s willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Results Individuals with more conspiracy beliefs and a lower trust in information sources were less likely to have a positive response to the NPIs. Individuals with less trust in information sources and more endorsement of CAM were more unwilling to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Distrust in information sources was the strongest and most consistent predictor in all models. Our analyses also revealed that some of the people who respond negatively to the NPIs also have a lower likelihood to take the vaccine. This association was partly related to a lower trust in information sources. Conclusions Distrusting the establishment to provide accurate information, believing in conspiracy theories, and endorsing treatments and substances that are not part of conventional medicine, are all associated with a more negative response to the official guidelines during COVID-19. How people respond to the guidelines, however, is more strongly and consistently related to the degree of trust they feel in the information sources, than to their tendency to hold conspiracy beliefs or endorse CAM. These findings highlight the need for governments and health authorities to create communication strategies that build public trust. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:48:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7560f485f4e042819213c21fef77c6d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:48:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-7560f485f4e042819213c21fef77c6d22022-12-21T23:45:24ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582021-04-0121111210.1186/s12889-021-10643-wUnwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicineAnna Soveri0Linda C. Karlsson1Jan Antfolk2Mikael Lindfelt3Stephan Lewandowsky4Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of TurkuDepartment of Psychology, Åbo Akademi UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Åbo Akademi UniversityDepartment of Theological Ethics, Åbo Akademi UniversitySchool of Psychological Science, University of BristolAbstract Background We investigated if people’s response to the official recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with conspiracy beliefs related to COVID-19, a distrust in the sources providing information on COVID-19, and an endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Methods The sample consisted of 1325 Finnish adults who filled out an online survey marketed on Facebook. Structural regression analysis was used to investigate whether: 1) conspiracy beliefs, a distrust in information sources, and endorsement of CAM predict people’s response to the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) conspiracy beliefs, a distrust in information sources, and endorsement of CAM are related to people’s willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Results Individuals with more conspiracy beliefs and a lower trust in information sources were less likely to have a positive response to the NPIs. Individuals with less trust in information sources and more endorsement of CAM were more unwilling to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Distrust in information sources was the strongest and most consistent predictor in all models. Our analyses also revealed that some of the people who respond negatively to the NPIs also have a lower likelihood to take the vaccine. This association was partly related to a lower trust in information sources. Conclusions Distrusting the establishment to provide accurate information, believing in conspiracy theories, and endorsing treatments and substances that are not part of conventional medicine, are all associated with a more negative response to the official guidelines during COVID-19. How people respond to the guidelines, however, is more strongly and consistently related to the degree of trust they feel in the information sources, than to their tendency to hold conspiracy beliefs or endorse CAM. These findings highlight the need for governments and health authorities to create communication strategies that build public trust.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10643-wCOVID-19Vaccine attitudesNon-pharmaceutical interventionsNPIConspiracyComplementary and alternative medicine |
| spellingShingle | Anna Soveri Linda C. Karlsson Jan Antfolk Mikael Lindfelt Stephan Lewandowsky Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine BMC Public Health COVID-19 Vaccine attitudes Non-pharmaceutical interventions NPI Conspiracy Complementary and alternative medicine |
| title | Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine |
| title_full | Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine |
| title_fullStr | Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine |
| title_short | Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine |
| title_sort | unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against covid 19 the role of conspiracy beliefs trust and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine |
| topic | COVID-19 Vaccine attitudes Non-pharmaceutical interventions NPI Conspiracy Complementary and alternative medicine |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10643-w |
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