Conspiracy beliefs predicting health behaviors: an integration of the theory of planned behavior and health belief model.

HEALTH Belief Model; PLANNED behavior theory; HEALTH behavior; CONSPIRACY theories; STRUCTURAL equation modeling; VACCINATION status

Conspiracy beliefs and misinformation can impact health behaviors and initiatives. The current study used structural equation modeling to test integrated models comprised of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Health Belief Model (HBM) within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine how conspiracy beliefs may predict relevant behaviors. Based on a sample of 529 US and Canadian adults, two types of behaviors were assessed (i.e., vaccination status and subsequent booster willingness) using models based on two common COVID-19 conspiracy belief types (hoax and government). Overall, conspiracy beliefs predicted most factors of the TPB and HBM. Perceived susceptibility was a consistent mediator regardless of conspiracy type or outcome variable. Findings have implications for public health interventions and compliance with public health initiatives such as vaccination uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Current Psychology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)