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Conspiratorial Beliefs About COVID-19 Pandemic - Can They Pose a Mental Health Risk? The Relationship Between Conspiracy Thinking and the Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Adult Poles.

ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to describe the relationship between the tendency to believe in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic, tendency to believe in conspiracy theories and the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms among the surveyed Poles. The study was conducted via the Internet in a group of 700 people aged 24.8 ± 6.3 years (mean ± SD). 585 females and 110 males were involved. Scales such as Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the original questionnaire COVID-19 Conspiratorial Beliefs Scale (COVID-19 CBS) designed to measure the tendency to believe in false information about COVID-19 pandemic were used. A positive correlation was observed between the tendency to believe in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 CBS) and the tendency to believe in general conspiracy theories (GCBS) (r = 0.768; p < 0.001). Moreover, both COVID-19 CBS and GCBS positively correlated with the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms in the study group. For COVID-19 CBS, the correlation coefficients were 0.087 (p < 0.021) and.108 (p < 0.004) for depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively, while for GCBS the coefficients were 0.132 (p < 0.001) and 0.147 (p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that the increased tendency to believe in false beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic may be associated with an increase in the severity of anxiety (b = 0.04; p = 0.021) and depression (b = 0.06; p < 0.001) symptoms. It can be hypothesized that the tendency to believe in false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is positively associated with the tendency to general belief in conspiracy theories. False beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic may, at least to some extent, influence the development of anxiety and depression symptoms.

SUBMITTER: Debski P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9209766 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Conspiratorial Beliefs About COVID-19 Pandemic - Can They Pose a Mental Health Risk? The Relationship Between Conspiracy Thinking and the Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Adult Poles.

Dȩbski Paweł P Boroń Adrianna A Kapuśniak Natalia N Dȩbska-Janus Małgorzata M Piegza Magdalena M Gorczyca Piotr P

Frontiers in psychiatry 20220607

The aim of the study was to describe the relationship between the tendency to believe in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic, tendency to believe in conspiracy theories and the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms among the surveyed Poles. The study was conducted via the Internet in a group of 700 people aged 24.8 ± 6.3 years (mean ± SD). 585 females and 110 males were involved. Scales such as Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS ...[more]

PMID: 35747099

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Project description:BackgroundImproving the understanding and treatment of mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety, are significant priorities for autistic adults. While several theories have been proposed to explain the high prevalence of internalizing symptoms in autistic populations, little longitudinal research has been done to investigate potential causal mechanisms. Additional research is needed to explore how proposed contributors to depression from general population research predict and/or moderate the development of internalizing symptoms in autistic individuals. In this study, we investigated the relation of one established risk factor, repetitive negative thinking (RNT), to internalizing symptoms over the course of college students' first semester, additionally examining whether this association is moderated by a measure of autistic traits.MethodsStudents were recruited from 4 northeastern U.S. universities: 144 participating students included 97 nonautistic students and 47 participants who either reported a formal autism diagnosis (n = 15) or endorsed a history of self and/or others thinking that they may be autistic (n = 32). Participants completed a baseline survey battery within their first 2 weeks of starting college, a brief biweekly survey throughout their first semester (up to 24 times across 12 weeks), and an endpoint packet.ResultsElevated trait-like RNT at baseline was prospectively associated with biweekly ratings of depression and anxiety symptoms across the semester. In addition, greater RNT was synchronously related to elevated sadness, anhedonia, and anxiety throughout the semester. Contrary to hypotheses, a shorter term predictive relationship between RNT at one timepoint and mood symptoms at the next was largely unsupported. While these patterns were observed across neurotypes, students with higher self-reported autistic traits were more likely to experience RNT, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms.ConclusionsThese preliminary findings highlight RNT as a specific mechanism that may be a useful prevention and/or intervention target toward reducing the elevated depression and anxiety rates in the autistic community.

Dataset Information

Conspiratorial Beliefs About COVID-19 Pandemic - Can They Pose a Mental Health Risk? The Relationship Between Conspiracy Thinking and the Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Adult Poles.

Publications

Conspiratorial Beliefs About COVID-19 Pandemic - Can They Pose a Mental Health Risk? The Relationship Between Conspiracy Thinking and the Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Adult Poles.

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