The new study sheds some additional light on why people believe that the peculiarities of modern life pose a threat to their personal health.
"I have written several papers with colleagues on conspiracy theories," study author Adrian Fershem of University College London said in an interview with PsyPost. "We're trying to understand why people hold conspiracy theories."
Scientists studied 335 British participants between the ages of 12 and 17 and found that medical conspiracy theories are closely linked to fears about the adverse effects of modern technology.
People who worried about the health effects of things like genetically modified foods, cell phones, and microwaves were also more likely to believe in medical conspiracy theories like water fluoridation is used to hide the presence of chemicals that are secretly dumped into water.
The researchers also found that older people, people with more religious beliefs, people who thought they had poor mental health, and people who used complementary medicine were more likely to be concerned about modern health threats.
However, the study used a cross-sectional methodology, which means that researchers cannot draw conclusions about cause and effect.
“It's always better to have larger samples to test the reliability of the results,” Fersham said. “Nor does the study explain the origin of these health concerns or their consequences. These issues will be addressed in future work."
Yai Evgeniya
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