ArticlePloS one2022
The impact of risk perceptions and belief in conspiracy theories on COVID-19 pandemic-related behaviours.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Contemporary trends in psychological research on conspiracy beliefs. A systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- How risk communication affects public trust in government: the moderating role of policy expectations.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Paranoia affected COVID-19 vaccine refusal by increasing beliefs in conspiracy theories and mistrust of science.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Australians' Well-Being and Resilience During COVID-19: The Role of Trust, Misinformation, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Locus of Control.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Media and information literacy as a model of societal balance: A grounded meta-synthesis.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Exploring COVID-19 conspiracy theories: education, religiosity, trust in scientists, and political orientation in 26 European countries.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- From Conspiracy to Hesitancy: The Longitudinal Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Perceived Vaccine Effectiveness.Vaccines · 2023Article
- Perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study with South African adults.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Dark Triad and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: the role of conspiracy beliefs and risk perception.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Risk perception and conspiracy theory endorsement predict compliance with COVID-19 public health measures.British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) · 2023Article
- Distractions, analytical thinking and falling for fake news: A survey of psychological factors.Humanities & social sciences communications · 2023Review
- Knowledge of Human Monkeypox and Its Relation to Conspiracy Beliefs among Students in Jordanian Health Schools: Filling the Knowledge Gap on Emerging Zoonotic Viruses.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories about the virus spread rapidly, and whilst governments across the globe put in place different restrictions and guidelines to contain the pandemic, these were not universally adhered to. This research examined the association between pandemic related risk perceptions, belief in conspiracy theories, and compliance with COVID-19 public guidelines amongst a UK sample (n = 368). Participants rated their level of concern for a series of potential risks during the pandemic (to the economy, personal health, freedom, media integrity and health risk to others). Participants also rated their level of belief in different conspiracy theories and self-reported their behaviour during the first UK lockdown. Mediational analyses showed that stronger belief in conspiracy theories was associated with perceptions of lower risk to health and higher risk to the economy and freedom, which in turn were associated with lower compliance with COVID-19 related governmental guidelines. Perception of information transparency risks did not mediate the association between belief in conspiracy theories and compliant behaviours. These results highlight the key role that risk perception may play in translating belief in conspiracy theories into low compliance with governmental COVID-19 related guidelines. Our findings suggest new patterns with respect to the relationship between conspiracy theory adherence and salience of different risk perceptions amidst the pandemic, which could have implications for the development of public health messaging and communication interventions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.