What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?

Abstract

In the midst of a pandemic, the efficacy of official measures to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis largely depends on public attitudes towards them, where conspiracy beliefs represent potential threats to the efficacy of measures such as vaccination. Here, we present predictors and outcomes associated with a COVID-19 vaccination conspiracy belief. In a representative survey of Germany, sociodemographic predictors of this belief were found to include age, federal state, migration background and school leaving qualification. The study revealed correlations with trust in scientific and governmental information sources, respondents’ self-assessment of being informed about science, general conspiracy mindedness, the frequency of using Twitter and messaging apps, as well as willingness to voluntarily take the COVID-19 vaccine. Our results cohere with and build on the general literature on conspiracy mindedness and related factors. The findings provide an evidence base for more effective health and crisis communication in Germany and beyond.

Correlates of COVID-19 vaccination intentions: Attitudes, institutional trust, fear, conspiracy beliefs, and vaccine skepticism

“…People who distrust institutions may therefore be more likely to reject vaccination because they may question the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Recent studies have found that trust in both political institutions and science were associated with positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccination and a higher willingness to be vaccinated ( Allington et al, 2021 ; Jennings et al, 2021 ; Jensen et al, 2021 ; Petravić et al, 2021 ; Thaker, 2021 ; Troiano and Nardi, 2021 ). In contrast, distrust in science has been found to be associated with negative attitudes and vaccination hesitancy ( Al-Qerem and Jarab, 2021 ; Byrne et al, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2021 ; Guidry et al, 2021 ; Janssens et al, 2021 ; Jennings et al, 2021 ; Karlsson et al, 2021 ; Kreps et al, 2021 ; Latkin et al, 2021c ; Machida et al, 2021 ; Malesza and Wittmann, 2021 ; Mo et al, 2021 ; Paul et al, 2021 ; Petravić et al, 2021 ; Sherman et al, 2021 ; Soares et al, 2021 ; Thaker, 2021 ; Troiano and Nardi, 2021 ).…”

“…Thus, people who believe that COVID-19 is the result of a conspiracy and reject scientific consensus on the health dangers of the virus and the effectiveness and safety of vaccines are likely to have a more negative attitude toward vaccination. Recent studies have found that conspiracy beliefs and denialism regarding COVID-19 and vaccinations are related to negative attitudes and lower intentions to be vaccinated ( Allington et al, 2021 ; Bertin et al, 2020 ; Freeman et al, 2021 ; Jensen et al, 2021 ; Kourlaba et al, 2021 ; Ruiz and Bell, 2021 ; Sallam et al, 2021 ; Sherman et al, 2021 ).…”

A Repeated Measures Dataset on Public Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Norms, Attitudes, Behaviors, Conspiracy Thinking, and (Mis)Information

“…The survey dataset provides quantitative data that allow investigation of relevant research questions for a representative sample of the population residing in Germany between 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary research using this dataset may, for instance, reveal different predictors and behavioural outcomes of belief in the conspiracy that the COVID-19 pandemic is part of a global effort to enforce mandatory vaccination (Jensen et al, 2021a). By providing this dataset, we wish to facilitate the identification of key issues that affect recovery and resilience in response to public health crises.…”

Design and Cross-Cultural Invariance of the COVID-19 Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (COVID-VCBS) in 13 Latin American Countries

“…Evidence of validity with other variables was assessed by the association between conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines and intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Previous studies have shown that rejection of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 in general and about COVID vaccines in particular are significant predictors of intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 ( 25 , 63 – 65 ). This is to be expected, as conspiracy beliefs about vaccines can increase vaccine hesitancy ( 31 ).…”