Conspiracy beliefs and distrust of science predicts reluctance of vaccine uptake of politically right-wing citizens.

ABSTRACT: It is not uncommon for conspiracy theories to have a political agenda, some conspiracies are more endorsed by the political left-wing than the political right-wing and vice-versa. Conspiracy theories quickly flourished as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and this may have been an underlying factor in a reluctance by some in following public health policies such as the wearing of face masks. In the present study, we surveyed a community sample of 1358 adults just prior to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our first aim was to determine whether one's political orientation, whether they are politically left- or right-wing, would be predictive of an individual's belief in conspiracy theories and determine whether this relationship can be exacerbated by a distrust in science. T

SUBMITTER: Winter T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8856386 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature