How to protect yourself … from the protective mask. The Dark Triad traits, conspiracy beliefs and compliance with sanitary measures, during the Covid-19 pandemic
Among critical situations throughout history, sanitary crises have proved to be the most difficult to manage, both because of the very unpredictability of their evolution, and because of the often poor communication between the governing bodies and the general population. Since sanitary measures are essential in the mastering and eradicating an infectious disease, compliance becomes the key element. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the dark triad traits (or dark factor), conspiracy beliefs (hereafter named “conspiracism”) and compliance with health measures in Romania, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on previous research, we anticipated a negative association between the dark factor and conspiracism, as independent variables, and compliance, as a dependent variable. The sample was composed of 308 volunteers, full-time students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s programs. The results show that both the dark triad traits and conspiracism significantly predict a low level of compliance and the trait conspiracism mediates the relation between the dark triad traits and compliance. Behavior specific to dark triad traits and conspiracism can generate a health hazard, both for the individual and for the people in their vicinity. Hence, the competent institutions should provide adequate information to counteract conspiracism; also, they could introduce regulations to prevent the dark factor characteristic noncompliance. Therefore, the collaboration between specialists in psychology, sociology and medicine should be considered.
Dark Triad traits, conspiracy beliefs, compliance with health measures, Covid-19
Andreea Scrumeda, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, Romania; email: andreea.scrumeda@gmx.com
