Beliefs in conspiracy theories, intolerance of uncertainty, and moral disengagement during the coronavirus crisis

This study investigated the effect of conspiracy ideation, moral disengagement, and intolerance of uncertainty on compliance with the anti-SARS-COV-2 social distancing rules and two other facets of people’s reactions towards the coronavirus crisis. A convenience sample of 245 Romanians completed an online survey in March 2020. Results indicate that conspiracy ideation is associated with lower assessments of virus risk and lower compliance with the confinement measures. Moral disengagement had a parallel effect of undermining personal compliance to the social distancing regulations, highlighting the need to define social distancing as morally relevant and prevent individual justifications for non-compliance.