Conspiracy beliefs and everyday crimes among young adults in Hong Kong

Abstract

Conspiracy theories have existed as a topic of discussion in online spaces and in news for a while. However, the start of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic became a ground for a wider discussion of old theories and for the construction of new ones. Research interested in this topic is in its initial stage and has numerous directions for evolution, including exploration of criminogenic factors. This research project aims to estimate an association between belief in conspiracy theories (CTs) and a higher proneness to crime within the context of young adults living in Hong Kong. Additionally, this study aims to examine any differences in this relationship with studies conducted within the western cultural context. The purpose of this study is to enrich the knowledge on the topic by introducing a novel cultural context within which the relationship between CT belief and crime proneness is tested. The data for this project was collected cross-sectionally from 69 local university students through an online questionnaire. The data did not indicate an overall correlation between CT belief and one’s crime proneness within the local cultural context; nevertheless, findings indicated support for the core premise of this relationship (as discussed in the literature) where distrust in government is associated with committing certain small crimes (jaywalking). These findings demonstrate the need for further research not only in the area of CT belief and crime proneness but also in the exploration of its components, all with an account of diverse cultural contexts.