IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v336y2023ics0277953623006202.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Believing in conspiracy theories in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic: Drivers and public health implications

Author

Listed:
  • Nefes, Türkay Salim
  • Präg, Patrick
  • Romero-Reche, Alejandro
  • Pereira-Puga, Manuel

Abstract

Conspiracy theories jeopardize public health by disseminating misinformation and undermining authoritative health guidelines. This study explores social factors associated with the belief in conspiracy theories in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of Max Weber, it posits that beliefs in conspiracy theories are linked to both instrumental rationality considerations, such as trust in health authorities, science, and pharmaceutical companies, as well as value-rationality based factors, such as ideological orientation. The study analyzes recent, nationally representative survey data and is the first to examine the social predictors of belief in conspiracy theories in Spain during the pandemic. The findings highlight that conspiracy theory beliefs are (a) associated with considerably worse vaccination behaviors, (b) not or only very weakly associated with standard demographics such as age, sex, or education, (c) related to instrumental rationality considerations, and (d) only weakly related to value-rationality indicators such as ideological and religious affiliations. In conclusion, the study underscores the significance of public health policies that specifically address conspiracy theory convictions, and to that end, advocates for the application of a Weberian sociological perspective to better understand the diverse rationalities underlying these beliefs, particularly in the absence of discernible demographic predictors.

Suggested Citation

  • Nefes, Türkay Salim & Präg, Patrick & Romero-Reche, Alejandro & Pereira-Puga, Manuel, 2023. "Believing in conspiracy theories in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic: Drivers and public health implications," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:336:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623006202
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116263
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953623006202
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116263?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ferreira, Simão & Campos, Carlos & Marinho, Beatriz & Rocha, Susana & Fonseca-Pedrero, Eduardo & Barbosa Rocha, Nuno, 2022. "What drives beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories? The role of psychotic-like experiences and confinement-related factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    2. Romer, Daniel & Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, 2020. "Conspiracy theories as barriers to controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    3. Seddig, Daniel & Maskileyson, Dina & Davidov, Eldad & Ajzen, Icek & Schmidt, Peter, 2022. "Correlates of COVID-19 vaccination intentions: Attitudes, institutional trust, fear, conspiracy beliefs, and vaccine skepticism," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    4. Van Oost, Pascaline & Yzerbyt, Vincent & Schmitz, Mathias & Vansteenkiste, Maarten & Luminet, Olivier & Morbée, Sofie & Van den Bergh, Omer & Waterschoot, Joachim & Klein, Olivier, 2022. "The relation between conspiracism, government trust, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions: The key role of motivation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    5. Milošević Đorđević, J. & Mari, S. & Vdović, M. & Milošević, A., 2021. "Links between conspiracy beliefs, vaccine knowledge, and trust: Anti-vaccine behavior of Serbian adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    6. Moreno Mancosu & Salvatore Vassallo & Cristiano Vezzoni, 2017. "Believing in Conspiracy Theories: Evidence from an Exploratory Analysis of Italian Survey Data," South European Society and Politics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 327-344, July.
    7. Türkay S Nefes, 2014. "Rationale of conspiracy theorizing: Who shot the President Chen Shui-bian?," Rationality and Society, , vol. 26(3), pages 373-394, August.
    8. Koon, Adam D. & Mendenhall, Emily & Eich, Lori & Adams, Abby & Borus, Zach A., 2021. "A spectrum of (Dis)Belief: Coronavirus frames in a rural midwestern town in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    9. Romer, Daniel & Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, 2021. "Conspiratorial thinking, selective exposure to conservative media, and response to COVID-19 in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    10. Joanne M. Miller & Kyle L. Saunders & Christina E. Farhart, 2016. "Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning: The Moderating Roles of Political Knowledge and Trust," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(4), pages 824-844, October.
    11. Lea Ellwardt & Patrick Präg, 2021. "Heterogeneous Mental Health Development During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom," Working Papers 2021-07, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    12. Stoler, Justin & Klofstad, Casey A. & Enders, Adam M. & Uscinski, Joseph E., 2022. "Sociopolitical and psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States during summer 2021," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    13. Malik Sallam & Deema Dababseh & Alaa’ Yaseen & Ayat Al-Haidar & Nidaa A. Ababneh & Faris G. Bakri & Azmi Mahafzah, 2020. "Conspiracy Beliefs Are Associated with Lower Knowledge and Higher Anxiety Levels Regarding COVID-19 among Students at the University of Jordan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-15, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Van Oost, Pascaline & Yzerbyt, Vincent & Schmitz, Mathias & Vansteenkiste, Maarten & Luminet, Olivier & Morbée, Sofie & Van den Bergh, Omer & Waterschoot, Joachim & Klein, Olivier, 2022. "The relation between conspiracism, government trust, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions: The key role of motivation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    2. Maureen Ayikoru, & Cole, Jennifer & Dodds, Klaus & Atcero, Milburga & Bada, Joseph K. & Petrikova, Ivica & Worodria, William, 2023. "Addressing vaccine concerns through the spectrum of vaccine acceptance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    3. Milošević Đorđević, J. & Mari, S. & Vdović, M. & Milošević, A., 2021. "Links between conspiracy beliefs, vaccine knowledge, and trust: Anti-vaccine behavior of Serbian adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    4. van Mulukom, Valerie & Pummerer, Lotte J. & Alper, Sinan & Bai, Hui & Čavojová, Vladimíra & Farias, Jessica & Kay, Cameron S. & Lazarevic, Ljiljana B. & Lobato, Emilio J.C. & Marinthe, Gaëlle & Pavela, 2022. "Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    5. Acar-Burkay, Sinem & Cristian, Daniela-Carmen, 2022. "Cognitive underpinnings of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    6. Oleksy, Tomasz & Wnuk, Anna & Gambin, Małgorzata & Łyś, Agnieszka, 2021. "Dynamic relationships between different types of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and protective behaviour: A four-wave panel study in Poland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    7. Claudy, Marius C. & Vijayakumar, Suhas & Campbell, Norah, 2022. "Reckless spreader or blameless victim? How vaccination status affects responses to COVID-19 patients," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    8. Casey A. Klofstad & Joseph E. Uscinski & Jennifer M. Connolly & Jonathan P. West, 2019. "What drives people to believe in Zika conspiracy theories?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    9. Yunhan Huang & Quanyan Zhu, 2022. "Game-Theoretic Frameworks for Epidemic Spreading and Human Decision-Making: A Review," Dynamic Games and Applications, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 7-48, March.
    10. Akfırat, Serap & Bayrak, Fatih & Üzümçeker, Emir & Ergiyen, Tolga & Yurtbakan, Taylan & Uysal, Mete Sefa, 2023. "The roles of social norms and leadership in health communication in the context of COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    11. Marilena Mousoulidou & Michailina Siakalli & Andri Christodoulou & Marios Argyrides, 2023. "Conspiracy Theories, Trust in Science, and Knowledge during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Cyprus," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(17), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Callaghan, Timothy & Motta, Matthew & Sylvester, Steven & Lunz Trujillo, Kristin & Blackburn, Christine Crudo, 2019. "Parent psychology and the decision to delay childhood vaccination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Islam, Asad & Pakrashi, Debayan & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Wang, Liang Choon, 2021. "Stigma and misconceptions in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: A field experiment in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    14. Coelho, Priscila & Foster, Katrina & Nedri, Meriam & Marques, Mathew D., 2022. "Increased belief in vaccination conspiracy theories predicts increases in vaccination hesitancy and powerlessness: Results from a longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    15. Motta, Matt & Benegal, Salil D, 2022. "How Pandemic-Related Changes in Global Attitudes Toward the Scientific Community Shape “Post-Pandemic” Environmental Opinion," SocArXiv v9egn, Center for Open Science.
    16. Momsen, Katharina & Ohndorf, Markus, 2023. "Information avoidance: Self-image concerns, inattention, and ideology," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 386-400.
    17. Fernando C. Gaspar, 2021. "Conspiracy Theories And Marketing: Lessons For Startups?," Economy & Business Journal, International Scientific Publications, Bulgaria, vol. 15(1), pages 313-322.
    18. Wu, Jian & Shen, Zhanlei & Li, Quanman & Tarimo, Clifford Silver & Wang, Meiyun & Gu, Jianqin & Wei, Wei & Zhang, Xinyu & Huang, Yanli & Ma, Mingze & Xu, Dongyang & Ojangba, Theodora & Miao, Yudong, 2023. "How urban versus rural residency relates to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: A large-scale national Chinese study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    19. Nina Hoffer & Sabrina Lex & Uwe K. Simon, 2022. "Virology in Schoolbooks—A Comprehensive Analysis of Austrian Biology Textbooks for Secondary School and Implications for Improvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-24, September.
    20. Lukas Zenk & Gerald Steiner & Miguel Pina e Cunha & Manfred D. Laubichler & Martin Bertau & Martin J. Kainz & Carlo Jäger & Eva S. Schernhammer, 2020. "Fast Response to Superspreading: Uncertainty and Complexity in the Context of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-13, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:336:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623006202. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.