Jieyu D Featherstone1, Robert A Bell2, Jeanette B Ruiz3. 1. Department of Communication, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States. Electronic address: jding@ucdavis.edu. 2. Department of Communication, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States. Electronic address: rabell@ucdavis.edu. 3. Department of Communication, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States. Electronic address: jbruiz@ucdavis.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Conspiracies about vaccination are prevalent. We assessed how the health information sources people rely upon and their political ideologies are associated with acceptance of vaccine conspiracies. METHODS: Online survey (N = 599) on Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsource platform. Hypotheses were tested via structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Acceptance of vaccine conspiracy beliefs was associated positively with greater reliance on social media for health information (coef. = 0.42, p < .001), inversely related to use of medical websites (coef. = -0.21, p < .001), and not significantly related to use of providers for health information (coef. = -0.13, p = .061). In addition, liberal political orientation was negatively associated with acceptance of vaccine conspiracies (coef. = -0.29, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: An understanding of vaccine conspiracy acceptance requires a consideration of people's health information sources. The greater susceptibility of political conservatives to conspiracy beliefs extends to the topic of vaccination.
BACKGROUND: Conspiracies about vaccination are prevalent. We assessed how the health information sources people rely upon and their political ideologies are associated with acceptance of vaccine conspiracies. METHODS: Online survey (N = 599) on Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsource platform. Hypotheses were tested via structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Acceptance of vaccine conspiracy beliefs was associated positively with greater reliance on social media for health information (coef. = 0.42, p < .001), inversely related to use of medical websites (coef. = -0.21, p < .001), and not significantly related to use of providers for health information (coef. = -0.13, p = .061). In addition, liberal political orientation was negatively associated with acceptance of vaccine conspiracies (coef. = -0.29, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: An understanding of vaccine conspiracy acceptance requires a consideration of people's health information sources. The greater susceptibility of political conservatives to conspiracy beliefs extends to the topic of vaccination.
Authors: Kim L Gratz; Julia R Richmond; Sherry E Woods; Katherine L Dixon-Gordon; Kayla M Scamaldo; Jason P Rose; Matthew T Tull Journal: Ann Behav Med Date: 2021-04-08
Authors: Will Jennings; Gerry Stoker; Hannah Bunting; Viktor Orri Valgarðsson; Jennifer Gaskell; Daniel Devine; Lawrence McKay; Melinda C Mills Journal: Vaccines (Basel) Date: 2021-06-03