A Cross-Country Assessment of Conspiracy Beliefs, Trust In Institutions, and Attitudes Towards The Covid-19 Vaccination

Conspiracy beliefs have spread during the Covid-19 pandemic. Such beliefs are important to understand because of their potential to underpin distrust in societal institutions and vaccine hesitancy. In the present research (N = 538), we assessed the links between conspiracy beliefs, trust in institutions (e.g., government, WHO), and attitudes towards the Covid-19 vaccination across the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. A moderated mediation analysis revealed the crucial role of political leaders in linking conspiracy beliefs with vaccination attitudes. Trust in the president was positively associated with conspiracy beliefs in Brazil because of its conspiracist president (Bolsonaro), which in turn was negatively associated with vaccination attitudes. In contrast, trust in the political leaders of the UK (Johnson) and USA (Biden) were negatively associated with conspiracy beliefs. In conclusion, our findings contribute to understanding the underlying mechanisms that link conspiracy beliefs with trust and vaccination attitudes.