Paranoid and Conspiracy Beliefs: The Role of Anxiety and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between paranoid and conspiracy beliefs and how these beliefs further relate to anxiety-trait, anxiety disorders, and satisfaction with life. The research was attended by 814 participants who were administered the Paranoia Scale, the Slovak Conspiracy Belief Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. The results suggest that paranoid beliefs were associated with conspiracy beliefs, anxiety-trait, and life satisfaction. All of the variables together accounted for almost 40% of the variance of paranoid beliefs. In addition, the presence of anxiety disorders had a relatively strong effect on the level of paranoid beliefs. However, life satisfaction and anxiety-trait were not related to conspiracy beliefs. These results suggest the more attention should be drawn to mental health as both anxiety level and life satisfaction, along with conspiracy beliefs significantly predicted paranoid beliefs.