Recently, researchers conducted a study on the assumption that certain psychological traits could characterize people who believe more false information around Covid-19. Scientists have focused their research on one disorder in particular:depression.
Since the arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, fake news has been legion mainly on social networks, especially concerning masks and vaccines. In France, this phenomenon was symbolized by Hold-Up, a "documentary" which claimed to uncover a global conspiracy around the Covid-19 pandemic. What if believing in this kind of fake news highlights certain psychological traits in the people concerned? Published on the JAMA Network Open platform on January 21, 2021, a study led by Harvard University School of Medicine (USA) has indeed established a link with depression .
According to scientists, individuals with moderate or severe depressive symptoms are more likely to believe misinformation about vaccines. On the other hand, they claim not to have identified a cause and effect relationship. This conclusion simply follows from greater efforts to try to understand the mechanisms causing the acceptance and dissemination misinformation.
“While we cannot conclude that depression caused this susceptibility, examination of a second wave of data at least told us that depression occurred before the misinformation. In other words, misinformation hasn't made people more depressed" , said Roy H. Perlis, lead author of the study.
The study included 15,464 adults from all over the United States and having the particularity of being suffering from depression. Researchers say they have observed the following phenomenon:people who are more likely to agree with misinformation are less likely to get vaccinated . These same people may also lack optimistic beliefs, which could cause them to underestimate the benefits of vaccination.
This work also found depression levels to be at least three times higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. The fact is that these two years of the pandemic have clearly facilitated manifestations of anxiety, stress and depression in many people. Recall that in January 2022, INSERM and the University of Bordeaux in France unveiled a survey on the state of the current situation of students. Today, approximately 37% of students suffer from depressive disorders , 27% anxiety and 13% even had suicidal thoughts.
