To trust or not to trust in the thrall of the COVID-19 pandemic: Conspiracy endorsement and the role of adverse childhood experiences, epistemic trust, and personality functioning

Hanna Kampling; David Riedl; Nora Hettich; Astrid Lampe; Tobias Nolte; Sandra Zara; Mareike Ernst; Elmar Brähler; Cedric Sachser; Jörg M Fegert; Stephan Gingelmaier; Peter Fonagy; Lina Krakau; Johannes Kruse

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116526

To trust or not to trust in the thrall of the COVID-19 pandemic: Conspiracy endorsement and the role of adverse childhood experiences, epistemic trust, and personality functioning

Soc Sci Med. 2024 Jan:341:116526. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116526. Epub 2023 Dec 23.

Authors

Hanna Kampling¹, David Riedl², Nora Hettich³, Astrid Lampe⁴, Tobias Nolte⁵, Sandra Zara⁶, Mareike Ernst⁷, Elmar Brähler⁸, Cedric Sachser⁹, Jörg M Fegert⁹, Stephan Gingelmaier¹⁰, Peter Fonagy¹¹, Lina Krakau³, Johannes Kruse¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany. Electronic address: hanna.kampling@psycho.med.uni-giessen.de.
² Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Vienna, Austria; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Medical Psychology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
³ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
⁴ Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Vienna, Austria; VAMED Rehabilitation Center, Schruns, Austria.
⁵ Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, United Kingdom.
⁶ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
⁷ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, Institute of Psychology, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt Am Wörthersee, Austria.
⁸ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Adiposity Diseases, Behavioral Medicine Research Unit, University Medical Center Leipzig, Germany.
⁹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
¹⁰ Psychology and Diagnostics for Emotional and Social Development for the Emotionally Impaired, University of Education Ludwigsburg, Germany.
¹¹ Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom.
¹² Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany; Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center of the Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.

PMID: 38169177
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116526

Abstract

Rationale: Conspiracy endorsement is a public health challenge for the successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. While usually considered a societal phenomenon, little is known about the equally important developmental backdrops and personality characteristics like mistrust that render an individual prone to conspiracy endorsement. There is a growing body of evidence implying a detrimental role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) - a highly prevalent developmental burden - in the development of epistemic trust and personality functioning. This study aimed to investigate the association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement in the general population, specifically questioning a mediating role of epistemic trust and personality functioning.

Methods: Based on cross-sectional data from a representative German survey collected during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 2501), we conducted structural equation modelling (SEM) where personality functioning (OPD-SQS) and epistemic trust (ETMCQ) were included as mediators of the association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement. Bootstrapped confidence intervals (5000 samples, 95%-CI) are presented for all paths.

Results: ACEs were significantly associated with conspiracy endorsement (β = 0.25, p < 0.001) and explained 6% of its variance. Adding epistemic trust and personality functioning as mediators increased the explained variance of conspiracy endorsement to 19% while the direct association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement was diminished (β = 0.12, p < 0.001), indicating an indirect effect of personality functioning and epistemic trust in the association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement. Fit indices confirmed good model fit.

Conclusions: Establishing an association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement further increases the evidence for early childhood adversities' far-reaching and detrimental effects. By including epistemic trust and personality functioning, these findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms in the way that ACEs may be associated with conspiracy endorsement.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; COVID-19; Child maltreatment; Conspiracy endorsement; Epistemic trust; Mediation; Personality functioning.

MeSH terms

Adverse Childhood Experiences*
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Pandemics
Personality