People who believe in conspiracy theories more likely to be suffering from stress, study finds

Professor Viren Swami found a 'signficant' link between high stress levels and stronger beliefs in conspiracy theories

The belief that world governments are covering up the existence of aliens is a popular conspiracy theory (Joe Raedle/Newsmakers)

People who believe in conspiracy theories are more likely to be suffering from stress, a new study by British researchers has found.

The study, led by Anglia Ruskin University's Professor Viren Swami, is the first to analyse the relationship between psychological stress and belief in conspiracies.

During his resarch, Professor Swami recruited 420 participants from the ages of 20 and 78, and asked them how strongly they believed in conspiracy theories like the supposed faking of the 1969 moon landing, or the alleged assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. by the US government.

He then assessed their levels of stress, gathering information on their general mental states and the number of stressful experiences they had gone through recently.

Overall, the study found that the stronger their belief in conspiracy theories, the more stressful life events they had experienced in the previous six months, and the higher their general levels of stress were in the previous month.

The participants came from varying demographics, but the results stayed consistent across the board - younger people were slightly more likely to believe in conspiracies, but there were no significant differences in belief between women and men, or different social classes.

Professor Swami, whose study has now been published in the Personality and Individual Differences journal, believes there are two main reasons for the link.

"Stressful situations increase the tendency to think less analytically," he explained. "An individual experiencing a stressful life event may begin to engage in a particular way of thinking, such as seeing patterns that don't exist."

Therefore, stressful events may lead to the development of a conspiracist mindset. Once this change has occurred, other theories may be taken on board more readily.

He believes the second reason is down to feelings of control and understanding which conspiracies can provide to stressed people.

"In the aftermath of distressing events, it is possible that some individuals may seek out conspiracist explanations that reinstall a sense of order or control," he said.