Correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in Japan: A cross-sectional study of 28,175 residents.

Correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in Japan: A cross-sectional study of 28,175 residents.

Blog Article

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in conspiracy theories worldwide.However, in Japan, the prevalence of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs has remained unclear.This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs using a survey of 28,175 residents of Set of 4 Mugs Japan aged 16-81 years old.MethodsA cross-sectional self-administered survey was conducted from September to October 2021.To assess the number of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, we used three questions from the Oxford Coronavirus Explanations, Attitudes, and Narratives Survey.

Independent variables included general vaccine conspiracy beliefs, sociodemographic variables, information sources for COVID-19, trust in authorities, and fear of COVID-19.ResultsAfter applying sampling weights and imputation, the estimated prevalence of holding at least one COVID-19 conspiracy belief was 24.4%.From a linear regression model, several factors were independently associated with Socks conspiracy beliefs.Notably, people with the lowest level of education (lower secondary school) endorsed fewer COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs (B -0.

089, vs.upper secondary school).Furthermore, higher socioeconomic backgrounds-such as higher income, higher wealth, and regular employment-were associated with endorsing conspiracy beliefs.Only 37.3% of respondents trusted the government of Japan, but paradoxically, trust in the government was positively associated with conspiracy beliefs (B 0.

175, vs.distrust).ConclusionsCOVID-19 conspiracy beliefs can be prevalent in about a quarter of the residents of Japan.Certain groups are more likely to endorse conspiracy beliefs, and targeting interventions towards these groups might be efficient in stemming the spread of conspiracy beliefs.