What drives beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories? The role of psychotic-like experiences and confinement-related factors

Simão Ferreira, Carlos Campos, Beatriz Marinho, Susana Rocha, Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero and Nuno Barbosa Rocha

Social Science & Medicine, 2022, vol. 292, issue C

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide threat to public health and the global economy. The climate of fear and uncertainty associated with the pandemic has fostered the emergence of a wide range of COVID-19 conspiracy theories that have the potential to shape public opinion and hinder the effective dissemination of valid information. Beliefs in conspiracy theories have been associated with maladaptive personality traits such as schizotypy and paranoia, as well as other non-psychotic psychological characteristics (e.g., social isolation, stress).

Keywords: COVID-19; Pandemic; Confinement; Conspiracy theories; Psychosis; Perceptual abnormalities; Persecutory ideation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114611

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