Cultural orientation, power, belief in conspiracy theories, and intentions to reduce the spread of COVID‐19

Biddlestone, Mikey; Green, Ricky; Douglas, Karen M.

doi:10.1111/bjso.12397

Cited by 308 publications

(377 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This might be a way of preventing a growing number of people from experiencing themselves as alienated and powerless, with the possible effect of turning to conspiracy theories [cf. ( 94 )].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress

2020

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Background As evidenced by several studies, mental distress increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this period, citizens were asked to exercise a high degree of self-control with regard to personal and social health behavior. At the same time, we witnessed an increase of prosocial acts and shared creative expressions, which are known to serve as sources of meaning. Meaning in life and self-control are acknowledged psychological resources. Especially in times of crisis, meaning in life has been shown to be a crucial factor for resilience and coping. However, threatening and stressful situations can also jeopardize existential security and trigger crises of meaning. The present study aimed to document levels of acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress in Germany and Austria during the lockdown and in the weeks thereafter. In order to identify potential risk factors related to demographics and living conditions, their associations with COVID-19 stress were analyzed exploratively. The primary objective of the study, however, was to investigate the buffering effect of two psychological resources—meaningfulness and self-control—with regard to the relation between acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress. Finally, a potential aggravation of mental distress due to the occurrence of crises of meaning was examined. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted online during lockdown (survey group 1) and the subsequent weeks characterized by eased restrictions (survey group 2). A total of N = 1,538 German-speaking participants completed a questionnaire battery including a novel measure of acute COVID-19 stress, meaningfulness and crisis of meaning (SoMe), self-control (SCS-KD), and a screening of general mental distress, measured by core symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-4). In a first step, associations between living conditions, demographics, and COVID-19 stress were explored. Second, a moderation and a mediation model were tested. Meaningfulness, a measure of presence of meaning in life, as well as self-control were proposed to serve as buffers in a time of crisis, thus moderating the relation between acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress (double moderation). Crisis of meaning, operationalizing an experienced lack of meaning in life, was proposed to mediate the relationship between acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress, with an assumed moderation of the association between COVID-19 stress and crisis of meaning by survey group (lockdown versus eased restrictions after lockdown), and a hypothesized moderation of the link between crisis of meaning and general mental distress by self-control (dual moderated mediation). Results COVID-19 stress was slightly right-skewed. Scores were higher during lockdown than in the weeks thereafter. The rate of clinically significant general mental distress was high, exceeding prevalence rates from both the general population and clinical samples of t...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress

2020

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“…Additionally, our participants were all from the United States, and thus we cannot generalize our results to other countries. Different countries have taken different approaches to the pandemic ( Bremmer, 2020 ), and there are likely cultural differences in compliance with health guidelines ( Biddlestone et al, 2020 ; Dizikes, 2020 ; Gebauer et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological entitlement predicts noncompliance with the health guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic

Zitek

Schlund

2021

Personality and Individual Differences

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In this research, we examined whether psychological entitlement predicted noncompliance with the health guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic. People higher in psychological entitlement typically try to avoid behaviors that might cause themselves harm, but their high expectations, lack of concern about others, and distrust of authority figures could affect their perceptions of the threat of the coronavirus and their views on the benefits of following the health guidelines. Across three studies ( N = 1004, online samples from the United States), people higher in psychological entitlement reported less compliance with the health guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic than people lower in psychological entitlement. Moreover, people higher in psychological entitlement believed that the threat of the virus was overblown and were less concerned about harming others, views that may partly explain their noncompliance. People higher in psychological entitlement were also more likely to report that they had contracted COVID-19, and thus their refusal to follow the health guidelines may have had negative consequences for them. An appeal to self-image concerns did not lead individuals higher in entitlement to be more likely to comply with the health guidelines.

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“…Another barrier to COVID-19 vaccination was the COVID-19 conspiracy theory, which has spread very rapidly around the world [9,27,28] via social media platforms, precisely where the study participants were recruited. This scenario may indicate that future studies should use a different sampling population via purposive sampling by rst testing the susceptibility potential participants to believe in conspiracy theories.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beliefs and Barriers Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia

Magadmi

Kamel

2020

Preprint

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Background: Developing a vaccine against COVID-19 is considered a key strategy to end the pandemic. However, public acceptance is reliant on beliefs and perception toward the vaccine. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the beliefs and barriers associated with COVID-19 vaccination among the Saudi population. Methods: An online self-administered questionnaire was distributed across the main regions of Saudi Arabia on May 2020. The questionnaire addressed the socio-demographic variables, beliefs toward COVID-19 vaccination, and potential barriers that may prevent participants from being vaccinated. The association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and sociodemographic variables were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predicting variables of vaccine acceptance.Results: Out of 3,101 participants, 44.7% are accepting of COVID-19 vaccination if available, whereas 55.3% admitted hesitancy. Younger, male, with secondary education, history of taking previous seasonal influenza vaccine, and positive belief toward COVID-19 vaccination are more likely to accept. The study found that concerns about side effects were the key barrier for vaccine acceptance. Furthermore, the majority of refusers will accept the vaccine if additional studies confirmed safety and effectiveness. Conclusion: Results can be utilized in planning vaccination campaigns while waiting for vaccine development.

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Cultural orientation, power, belief in conspiracy theories, and intentions to reduce the spread of COVID‐19

Cited by 308 publications

References 23 publications

Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress

Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress

Psychological entitlement predicts noncompliance with the health guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic

Beliefs and Barriers Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia

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