scholarly journals COVID-19 as an undesirable political issue: Conspiracy beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty predict adhesion to prevention measures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Farias ◽  
Ronaldo Pilati
Keyword(s):  
Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs

scholarly journals COVID-19 as an Undesirable Political Issue: Conspiracy Beliefs and Intolerance of Uncertainty Predict Adhesion to Prevention Measures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jéssica Esther Machado Farias ◽  
Ronaldo Pilati
Keyword(s):  
Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Political Partisanship ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
And Control

Conspiracy theories tend to thrive in moments of crises because they provide simple answers that assist individuals in coping with threats, making the world more understandable. The COVID-19 pandemic is such a crisis and is boosted by the political turmoil related to politicization of the pandemic in some countries. To assess the role of political partisanship, conspiracy beliefs, and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in our two criterion variables (support for COVID-19 prevention measures and compliance with social distancing), we applied an online questionnaire to 662 participants. We have used regression analyses to examine the data collected. Our results indicate that political partisanship predicts conspiracy theories involving personal wellbeing (PW) and control of information (CI) but not government malfeasance (GM) ones. Political partisanship predicted support to COVID-19 prevention measures while intolerance of uncertainty predicted past compliance with social distancing. Beliefs in GM theories predicted support to COVID-19 prevention measures and non-compliance with social distancing while beliefs in PW and CI only predicted non-compliance with social distancing. Belief in GM, PW, and CI theories moderated the effect of political partisanship on support to COVID-19 prevention measures whereas belief in GM and PW theories moderated the effect of IU on past non-compliance with social distancing. Overall, our results suggest the relevance of diminishing political polarization around the virus, providing basic scientific knowledge to the general population to make it easier to identify fake data and conspiracy theories, and offering psychological support focused on dealing with uncertainty to assist in increasing endorsement of and compliance with prevention measures.

scholarly journals The role of conspiracy beliefs for COVID-19 prevention: A meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinga Bierwiaczonek ◽  
Jonas R. Kunst ◽  
Aleksander B. Gundersen
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Chloroquine Treatment ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
High Effort ◽  
Over Time

While conspiracy theories about COVID-19 are proliferating, their impact on health-related responses during the present pandemic is not yet fully understood. We meta-analyzed correlational and longitudinal evidence from 53 studies (N = 78,625) conducted in 2020 and 2021, demonstrating under what conditions COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs influence prevention responses. Conspiracy beliefs were associated with reluctance toward prevention measures both cross-sectionally and over time. They primarily reduced high-effort and pervasive responses (vaccination, social distancing), whereas low-effort responses (wearing masks, hygiene) seemed unaffected. Alarmingly, conspiracy beliefs had an increasing effect on prevention responses as the pandemic progressed and predicted support for alternative treatments that lack a scientific basis (e.g., chloroquine treatment, complementary medicine). Conspiracy beliefs are a non-negligeable and growing threat to public health.

Perception of Smokers: Results from the Tobacco Monitoring Switzerland

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theda Radtke ◽  
Roger Keller ◽  
Andrea Bütikofer ◽  
Rainer Hornung
Keyword(s):  
Social Ties ◽  
Tobacco Consumption ◽  
School Transitions ◽  
Prevention Measures

Aim: The purpose of the study is to present adolescents’ perceptions of smokers and non-smokers among 1015 Swiss adolescents. Method: The analyses are based on data from Tobacco Monitoring Switzerland, which is a survey of tobacco consumption in Switzerland. To measure the perceptions of smokers and non-smokers, respondents were asked to attribute a series of adjectives to each group. It was also recorded when respondents mentioned that “there is no difference between smokers and non-smokers.” Results: Results show that regardless of whether the adolescents smoked or did not smoke – with the exception of more sociable – the image of smokers was more negative than the image of non-smokers. Findings also indicated that regular smokers in particular often stated that there are no differences between both groups. Conclusions: Overall, the image of smokers is more negative than the image of non-smokers, with the exception of the attribute more sociable. This perception of smokers could be important for prevention measures in new contexts (e. g., school transitions), where smoking could be a means of establishing new social ties.

Die Bedeutung von Unsicherheitsintoleranz für die Generalisierte Angststörung Modellüberlegungen und Entwicklung einer deutschen Version der Unsicherheitsintoleranz-Skala

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. Gerlach ◽  
Tanja Andor ◽  
Julia Patzelt
Keyword(s):  
Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽  
Generalisierte Angststörung ◽  
Deutsche Übersetzung

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: In der neueren Literatur wird Unsicherheitsintoleranz (UI) als ein wichtiger Faktor bei der Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung der Generalisierten Angststörung diskutiert. Die Skala zur Erfassung von UI fehlt bisher in deutscher Sprache. Fragestellung: Welche psychometrischen Eigenschaften weist die deutsche Übersetzung der „Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale” auf? Welche Faktorenstruktur liegt der Skala zugrunde? Kann das Instrument gekürzt werden? Ist die neu gewonnene Faktorenstruktur in einer unabhängigen Stichprobe zu replizieren? Welchen Anteil der Varianz der Sorgenaktivität (PSWQ) kann UI erklären? Wie lässt sich UI mit anderen relevanten Konstrukten in ein Modell der GAS integrieren? Methode: Mit Hilfe einer explorativen Faktorenanalyse wurde an einer studentischen Stichprobe (N = 682) die Faktorenstruktur des deutschen UI Fragebogens gewonnen. Auf Grundlage dieser Faktorenstruktur wurde eine gekürzte Version (UI-18) erstellt. Diese Faktorenstruktur wurde in einer zweiten studentischen Stichprobe (N = 540) konfirmiert. Zur Konstruktvalidierung wurde ein Regressionsmodell zur Vorhersage von Sorgenaktivität gerechnet. Ergebnisse: Der neu gewonnene Fragebogen UI-18 weist drei replizierbare Faktoren auf („Eingeschränkte Handlungsfähigkeit bei UI”, „Belastung durch UI” und „Vigilanz bei UI”). Die UI Skalen Belastung und Vigilanz, vier Skalen des Metakognitionsfragebogen und Geschlecht sagen bedeutsam Sorgenaktivität voraus. Schlussfolgerungen: Unsicherheitsintoleranz kann reliabel gemessen werden. Vor dem Hintergrund unserer Ergebnisse wird ein Modell der GAS vorgestellt, das Unsicherheitsintoleranz, Metakognitionen bezüglich des Sorgens sowie die Vermeidungstheorie des Sorgens integriert.

Family-, Media-, and School-Related Risk Factors of Video Game Addiction

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Rehbein ◽  
Dirk Baier
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
School Life ◽  
Video Game Addiction ◽  
Effective Prevention ◽  
Game Addiction

In recent years, a variety of epidemiological studies have provided empirical data on the prevalence of video game addiction (GA) in different age groups. However, few studies investigated the causes of GA and could explain why video game playing as a widespread phenomenon leads to a comparatively small percentage of addicted players. Additionally, the existing longitudinal studies mainly consider psychological trait variables and neglect the possible explanatory value of predictors in socialization regarding media availability, media use, and family and everyday school life. In this paper, the results of a two-wave longitudinal study comprising a sample of students from Grades 4 to 9 (N = 406) are presented. The data show that 15-year-old video game addicts had already exhibited a number of specific risk factors at the age of 10. Students from single-parent families seem to be particularly at risk, as are students with low experienced school well-being and with a weaker social integration in class. The data also indicate that problematic use of video games in childhood increases the risk of GA in adolescence. Male students are especially vulnerable for developing GA. The results of this study are an important contribution to understanding risk factors for GA in adolescents, thereby laying the groundwork for effective prevention measures.

Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children—Parent-Report Form

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Comer ◽  
Amy K. Roy ◽  
Jami M. Furr ◽  
Kristin Gotimer ◽  
Rinad S. Beidas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽  
Parent Report

Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale--Short Version

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Nicholas Carleton ◽  
M. A. Peter J. Norton ◽  
Gordon J. G. Asmundson
Keyword(s):  
Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽  
Short Version

An American Language

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosina Lozano
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Language Recognition ◽  
Political Language ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

An American Language is a political history of the Spanish language in the United States. The nation has always been multilingual and the Spanish language in particular has remained as an important political issue into the present. After the U.S.-Mexican War, the Spanish language became a language of politics as Spanish speakers in the U.S. Southwest used it to build territorial and state governments. In the twentieth century, Spanish became a political language where speakers and those opposed to its use clashed over what Spanish's presence in the United States meant. This book recovers this story by using evidence that includes Spanish language newspapers, letters, state and territorial session laws, and federal archives to profile the struggle and resilience of Spanish speakers who advocated for their language rights as U.S. citizens. Comparing Spanish as a language of politics and as a political language across the Southwest and noncontiguous territories provides an opportunity to measure shifts in allegiance to the nation and exposes differing forms of nationalism. Language concessions and continued use of Spanish is a measure of power. Official language recognition by federal or state officials validates Spanish speakers' claims to US citizenship. The long history of policies relating to language in the United States provides a way to measure how U.S. visions of itself have shifted due to continuous migration from Latin America. Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens are crucial arbiters of Spanish language politics and their successes have broader implications on national policy and our understanding of Americans.

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