14 could be peak age for believing in conspiracy theories
Belief in conspiracy theories is heightened as adolescents reach 14 years of age, reveals new research involving Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
By Helen Breese | Published on 9 February 2021
Categories: Press office; Research;
A study, led by Northumbria University and conducted by a team of psychologists from across the UK, has uncovered that belief in conspiracy theories flourishes in teenage years. More specifically, they found that 14 is the age adolescents are most likely to start believing in conspiracy theories, with beliefs remaining constant into early adulthood.
The findings were discovered using the first ever scientific measure of conspiracy beliefs suitable for analysing younger populations.
Addressing gaps in research
Previous research has demonstrated that conspiracy theories can affect people’s beliefs and behaviours in significant ways. For example, they can influence people’s views and decisions on important issues such as climate change and vaccinations.
With around 60% of British people believing in at least one conspiracy theory, understanding their popularity is important.
Despite their significance, however, all existing research on conspiracy theories has been conducted with adults, and research methods used to measure conspiracy beliefs have been designed only with adults in mind. To date, therefore, there has been a lack of knowledge about when and why conspiracy beliefs develop in young people, and how these beliefs change over time.
Now, a timely project funded by the British Academy has developed and validated a conspiracy beliefs questionnaire suitable for young people, called the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ). The project was led by Dr Daniel Jolley, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Northumbria University, who worked in collaboration with Professor Karen Douglas (University of Kent), Dr Yvonne Skipper (University of Glasgow), Ms Eleanor Thomas (University of Birmingham), and Ms Darel Cookson (Nottingham Trent University).
Examining conspiracy belief by age
Academics worked with secondary school teachers to devise an initial list of 36 questions. The questions were then tested on a range of young people from schools across the UK through multiple studies, allowing the team to confirm a list of nine questions that effectively measure young people’s belief in conspiracy theories. The ACBQ includes statements such as “secret societies influence many political decisions” - participants completing the questionnaire are asked to respond to each statement on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). A higher mean score indicates a higher belief in conspiracy theories.
Dr Daniel Jolley said: “Our project has put the spotlight on young people’s conspiracy beliefs for the first time. As part of our scale construction, we uncovered initial evidence that paranoia and mistrust are associated with conspiracy beliefs in young populations. We also found that by the age of 14, conspiracy beliefs appeared to remain constant. Exploring the psychological antecedents and consequences of conspiracy thinking in younger populations is important and timely.”
Darel Cookson, Lecturer in Psychology at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, collected data from UK high schools and colleges for the study. She said: "Understanding belief in conspiracy theories is important and timely, but previous research had been only focused on adult populations. From developing the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire and testing this on young people, we are now able to explore the origins of conspiracy beliefs, and the predictors and consequences of these in adolescents."
Vanessa Cuthill, Director of Research at the British Academy, said: “The British Academy is proud to support research that helps deepen our understanding of people and society. High-quality, independent research in the humanities and social sciences points us towards new ways to think about our most pressing concerns. This study is a great example, providing us with new ways in which we can learn more about the origins of conspiracy beliefs and the impact social media and digital technology have on the lives of young people.”
A paper detailing the research has been published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology.
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Helen Breese, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8751, or via email.
- The academic paper entitled Measuring adolescents’ beliefs in conspiracy theories: Development and validation of the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ) has been published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology
- The Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ) is available to download. A short animation describing the research can also be found on YouTube.
- Authors: Daniel Jolley, Northumbria University (lead author); Karen Douglas, University of Kent; Yvonne Skipper, University of Glasgow; Eleanor Thomas, University of Birmingham and Darel Cookson, Nottingham Trent University
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students.
NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.
The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.
It is one of the largest UK universities. With nearly 32,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. With an international student population of more than 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.
The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019.
A total of 82% of its graduates go on to graduate entry employment or graduate entry education or training within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 87% satisfaction score in the 2020 National Student Survey, above the sector average of 83%.