Narcissism, national narcissism, COVID-19 conspiracy belief, and social media use as predictors of compliance with COVID-19 public health guidelines

Journal article


Vaal, S., Schofield, M., Baker, I. and Roberts, B. 2022. Narcissism, national narcissism, COVID-19 conspiracy belief, and social media use as predictors of compliance with COVID-19 public health guidelines. Current Psychology. 42, p. 26868–26875. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03715-6
AuthorsVaal, S., Schofield, M., Baker, I. and Roberts, B.
Abstract

Understanding health belief models, and the variables that influence adherence to public health measures imposed by local governments and international health bodies, is crucial to slowing down the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Conspiracy theories about the virus have quickly spread on social media and have been linked to reluctance to comply with COVID-19 regulations. Personality traits such as narcissism and collective national narcissism have also been associated with the way we perceive severity and susceptibility to the disease. To examine this further, participants (N = 183) completed an online questionnaire measuring belief in COVID-19 conspiracies, trait narcissism, national narcissism, and social media usage. A model containing these variables was able to significantly predict adherence to COVID-19 preventative health behaviours, with higher levels of COVID-19 conspiracy belief, narcissism, and social media usage all contributing to reduced adherence to recommended COVID-19 health behaviours. The findings suggest conspiracy beliefs, narcissism, and social media play a key role in adherence to behaviours orientated towards stopping the spread of COVID-19. Governments and social media companies need to demonstrate greater awareness of the negative effects of conspiracy theories spread through social media, in addition to awareness of how these effects may be greater in more narcissistic individuals.

Keywordshealth belief models; public health measures; COVID-19
Year2022
JournalCurrent Psychology
Journal citation42, p. 26868–26875
PublisherSpringer
ISSN1046-1310
1936-4733
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03715-6
Web address (URL)http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03715-6
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates05 Oct 2022
Publication process dates
Accepted27 Aug 2022
Deposited17 Oct 2022
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https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/9q59q/narcissism-national-narcissism-covid-19-conspiracy-belief-and-social-media-use-as-predictors-of-compliance-with-covid-19-public-health-guidelines

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