What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany? / Jensen, Eric Allen; Pfleger, Axel; Herbig, Lisa; Wagoner, Brady; Lorenz, Lars; Watzlawik, Meike.

In: Frontiers in Communication, Vol. 6, 678335, 2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Jensen, EA, Pfleger, A, Herbig, L, Wagoner, B, Lorenz, L & Watzlawik, M 2021, 'What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?', Frontiers in Communication, vol. 6, 678335. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.678335

APA

Jensen, E. A., Pfleger, A., Herbig, L., Wagoner, B., Lorenz, L., & Watzlawik, M. (2021). What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany? Frontiers in Communication, 6, [678335]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.678335

Vancouver

Jensen EA, Pfleger A, Herbig L, Wagoner B, Lorenz L, Watzlawik M. What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany? Frontiers in Communication. 2021;6. 678335. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.678335

Author

Jensen, Eric Allen ; Pfleger, Axel ; Herbig, Lisa ; Wagoner, Brady ; Lorenz, Lars ; Watzlawik, Meike. / What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?. In: Frontiers in Communication. 2021 ; Vol. 6.

Bibtex

@article{cf00f41858304563a234efdb9a9499f5,
title = "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. ",
keywords = "Conspiracy theories, COVID-19, Crisis communication, Health communciation, Vaccination",
author = "Jensen, {Eric Allen} and Axel Pfleger and Lisa Herbig and Brady Wagoner and Lars Lorenz and Meike Watzlawik",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Jensen, Pfleger, Herbig, Wagoner, Lorenz and Watzlawik.",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.3389/fcomm.2021.678335",
language = "English",
volume = "6",
journal = "Frontiers in Communication",
issn = "2297-900X",
publisher = "Frontiers Media S.A.",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - What Drives Belief in Vaccination Conspiracy Theories in Germany?

AU - Jensen, Eric Allen

AU - Pfleger, Axel

AU - Herbig, Lisa

AU - Wagoner, Brady

AU - Lorenz, Lars

AU - Watzlawik, Meike

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Jensen, Pfleger, Herbig, Wagoner, Lorenz and Watzlawik.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Conspiracy theories

KW - COVID-19

KW - Crisis communication

KW - Health communciation

KW - Vaccination

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118103473&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3389/fcomm.2021.678335

DO - 10.3389/fcomm.2021.678335

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85118103473

VL - 6

JO - Frontiers in Communication

JF - Frontiers in Communication

SN - 2297-900X

M1 - 678335

ER -

ID: 355187317