Nick Fox

New research challenges the idea of a ‘vicious cycle’ between psychological distress and conspiracy beliefs One prominent theory says conspiracy beliefs are triggered by elevated distress. But a new study finds limited evidence to support this claim.

tldr: we found very limited evidence for distress subsequently increasing belief in conspiracy theories using a longitudinal survey sampling participants 7 times over ~6 months - and no evidence for belief in conspiracy theories worsening distress over time

Do Stress, Depression, and Anxiety Lead to Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories? - Nick D. Fox, Matt N. Williams, Stephen R. Hill, 2025 Previous research has found positive correlations between manifestations of psychological distress, such as anxiety, depression, and stress, and belief in consp...

Excited for my doctoral research to be published, thanks to the support of @matthewmatix.bsky.social @srhastraea.bsky.social