Conspiracy theories allege secret plots between two or more powerful actors to achieve an outcome, sometimes explaining important events or proposing alternative understandings of reality in opposition to mainstream accounts, and commonly highlight the threat presented by the plot and its conspirators. Research in psychology proposes that belief in conspiracy theories is motivated by a desire to understand threats and is predicted by increased anxiety. Morbid curiosity describes the tendency to seek out information about threatening or dangerous situations and is associated with an interest in threat-related entertainment and increased anxiety. Across three studies, we investigated the relationship between morbid curiosity and conspiracy theories in US-based samples. We found that higher trait morbid curiosity was associated with higher general conspiracist beliefs (Study 1) and the perceived threat of conspiratorial explanations of events (Study 2). Using a behavioural choice paradigm, we found that participants who chose to investigate morbidly curious stimuli were more likely to choose to learn about conspiratorial explanations for events (Study 3). Greater curiosity about the minds of dangerous people was consistently the strongest predictor of conspiratorial ideation and interest. These results suggest that morbid curiosity is an important but hitherto unstudied predictor of conspiratorial interest and belief.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12682 | DOI Listing |
Purpose: Stigma contributes to fear and shame, resulting in delays in care-seeking behavior among individuals with cancer. As a social construct, stigma is affected by language, religion, culture, and local norms. This study explored pediatric cancer stigma at the time of diagnosis across diverse settings through the adaptation of two stigma measures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
Heilbronn University, Heilbronn, Germany.
Background: The national health record (ePA) was introduced January 1, 2021 in Germany and is available to every person insured under statutory health insurance. This study investigated the acceptance and expectations of the national health record in Germany, focusing on consumer perspectives, expectations, barriers, information needs, and communication aspects.
Methods: An exploratory, observational, cross-sectional online survey was conducted one year after ePA introduction, followed by descriptive statistical analysis.
Nutrients
December 2024
University of New South Wales Microbiome Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2033, Australia.
Background: Few studies have explored the relationship between habitual dietary patterns and disease activity in people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). This cross-sectional study explored the association between dietary patterns and clinical and objective markers of inflammation in adults from the Australian IBD Microbiome Study.
Methods: Dietary patterns were derived using principal component analysis (PCA) of baseline food frequency questionnaire data.
Nutrients
December 2024
Univ. Bordeaux, Institute for Cognitive and Integrative Neuroscience Aquitaine (INCIA), French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), UMR5287, 33000 Bordeaux, France.
Background: Stroke ranks as the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability in adults worldwide. While an unhealthy diet is an independent risk factor for stroke, its association with disordered eating behaviours on stroke remains overlooked. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of addictive-like eating behaviours in stroke patients and their association with the main vascular stroke risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
December 2024
Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA.
Rising rates of depression among youth present a growing mental health crisis. Despite growing concerns regarding the risks of air pollution exposure on youth mental and physical health, associations between ambient air pollutants and depression have been largely overlooked in youth. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated associations between ozone, particulate matter, and depressive symptoms in adolescents across 224 Colorado census tracts (average age of 14.
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