Anti-scientific beliefs predict health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

There exist today many forms of anti-scientific beliefs, from extreme views like the QAnon conspiracies, to misconceptions about vaccines and cancer treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented to us a situation in which the public is being asked by medical experts and politicians alike to trust in science and follow after various health recommendations like wearing masks or getting vaccinated against the virus. We used an anti-science belief scale [Morgan et al., 2018] to assess how preexisting beliefs that run counter to the scientific narrative predict behaviors during the pandemic. We found that people who were more accepting of those anti-scientific positions trusted medical information and experts less and engaged less in recommended health behaviors, while simultaneously showing a more favorable view of Trump's actions as President during the pandemic.

Public Health Needs the Public Trust: A Pandemic Retrospective

“…Parents' intent to vaccinate has markedly decreased [19]. Vaccine hesitancy is associated with conspiratorial thinking [20][21][22] and distrust with conventional medicine [23]. With the increased prominence of these views, public health guidance is less likely to be followed [12].…”