SynthesisSocial science & medicine (1982)2022
Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Social science & medicine (1982), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Key factors for promoting protective behaviours in future pandemics: an umbrella review.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Pooled it
- Development of a Conceptual Framework of Health Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review of Reviews.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Pooled it
- Contemporary trends in psychological research on conspiracy beliefs. A systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- The efficacy of interventions in reducing belief in conspiracy theories: A systematic review.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Summarising data and factors associated with COVID-19 related conspiracy theories in the first year of the pandemic: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Not that different after all: Pro-environmental social norms predict pro-environmental behaviour (also) among those believing in conspiracy theories.British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) · 2026Article
- Chatbots reduce health-related conspiracy beliefs not because of but despite being perceived as AI.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Universal threads: Shared sociopolitical roots and consequences of extrasensory perception and pseudoscientific beliefs.British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) · 2026Article
- Does Lower Psychological Need Satisfaction Foster Conspiracy Belief? Longitudinal Effects Over 3 Years in New Zealand.Personality & social psychology bulletin · 2026Article
- A two-stage preprocessing and classification approach for accurate COVID-19 detection in X-ray images.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Between resistance and adaptation in COVID-19 times: The outbreak daily prevalence moderates the association between conspiracy thinking and adherence to government protocols.British journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Understanding Unrest: Conspiracy Belief and Violent Radicalization Patterns in Young People During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Netherlands.European journal on criminal policy and research · 2026Article
- Predictors of vaccine hesitancy among medical students at the University of Belgrade.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Predictors of mask-wearing behavior in Armenia during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a nationwide survey.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Alternative theories of COVID-19: social dimensions and information sources.Journal of public health policy · 2025Review
- The impacts of expertise, conflict, and scientific literacy on trust and belief in scientific disagreements.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake Among African Immigrants: Lessons from a Community-Based Outreach Program.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Owners of a conspiratorial heart? Investigating the longitudinal relationship between loneliness and conspiracy beliefs.The British journal of social psychology · 2025Article
- Prevalence of pharmaceutical industry conspiracy theories among the polish population.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Prevalence, nature, and determinants of COVID-19-related conspiracy theories among healthcare workers: a scoping review.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Article
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleBelief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories can have severe consequences; it is therefore crucial to understand this phenomenon, in its similarities with general conspiracy belief, but also in how it is context-dependent.
objectiveThe aim of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the available research on COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and to synthesise this research to make it widely accessible.
methodsWe present a synthesis of COVID-19 conspiracy belief research from 85 international articles, identified and appraised through a systematic review, in line with contemporary protocols and guidelines for systematic reviews.
resultsWe identify a number of potential antecedents of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs (individual differences, personality traits, demographic variables, attitudes, thinking styles and biases, group identity, trust in authorities, and social media use), their consequences (protective behaviours, self-centred and misguided behaviours such as hoarding and pseudoscientific health practices, vaccination intentions, psychological wellbeing, and other negative social consequences such as discrimination and violence), and the effect sizes of their relations with the conspiracy beliefs.
conclusionsWe conclude that understanding both the potential antecedents and consequences of conspiracy beliefs and how they are context-dependent is highly important to tackle them, whether in the COVID-19 pandemic or future threats, such as that of climate change.
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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.