To trust or not to trust in the thrall of the COVID-19 pandemic: Conspiracy endorsement and the role of adverse childhood experiences, epistemic trust, and personality functioning

Hanna Kampling, David Riedl, Nora Hettich, Astrid Lampe, Tobias Nolte, Sandra Zara, Mareike Ernst, Elmar Brähler, Cedric Sachser, Jörg M. Fegert, Stephan Gingelmaier, Peter Fonagy, Lina Krakau and Johannes Kruse

Social Science & Medicine, 2024, vol. 341, issue C

Abstract: Conspiracy endorsement is a public health challenge for the successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. While usually considered a societal phenomenon, little is known about the equally important developmental backdrops and personality characteristics like mistrust that render an individual prone to conspiracy endorsement. There is a growing body of evidence implying a detrimental role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) – a highly prevalent developmental burden – in the development of epistemic trust and personality functioning. This study aimed to investigate the association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement in the general population, specifically questioning a mediating role of epistemic trust and personality functioning.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Child maltreatment; Conspiracy endorsement; Personality functioning; Epistemic trust; COVID-19; Mediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:341:y:2024:i:c:s0277953623008833

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116526

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