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Belief in false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and a tendency to conspiracy thinking as factors that may exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression among Polish citizens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

P. Dębski ,
M. Piegza ,
N. Kapuśniak ,
A. Boroń ,
M. Dębska  and
P. Gorczyca
P. Dębski*
Affiliation:
Medical University of Silesia, Department Of Psychiatry, Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
M. Piegza
Affiliation:
Medical University of Silesia, Department Of Psychiatry, Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
N. Kapuśniak
Affiliation:
Medical University of Silesia, Department Of Psychiatry, Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
A. Boroń
Affiliation:
Medical University of Silesia, Department Of Psychiatry, Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
M. Dębska
Affiliation:
The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Institute Of Sport Sciences, Katowice, Poland
P. Gorczyca
Affiliation:
Medical University of Silesia, Department Of Psychiatry, Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the subject of intense discussion on social media platforms. Fake news and conspiracy theories about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in particular its origin, spread, impact on health and prevention, have become especially popular. The social crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a growing tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, which in turn may contribute to an increase in anxiety tension and thus deteriorate the psychological health of citizens.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to determine the relationships between the tendency to believe in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic and the severity of symptoms of anxiety and depression among the surveyed Polish citizens.

Methods

The study included 700 Polish people aged 24.7±6.34 years. We used questionnaires such as: COVID-19 Conspiratorial Beliefs Scale to measure the level of belief in false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale to measure tendencies to believe in conspiracy theories, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Results

Belief in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic may be associated with a slight increase in the severity of both anxiety symptoms (b=0.044; p=0.021) and depression (b=0.048; p=0.004). A factor known as belief in the criminal activity of government organizations may also contribute to predicting the increase in the severity of symptoms of anxiety (b=0.172; p=0.001) and depression (b=0.169; p=0.000) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions

Belief in false information about the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as belief in general conspiracy theories, can contribute to the psychological deterioration of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Covid-19conspiracy thinkingDepressionAnxiety
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S75
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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