Conspiracy Beliefs and the Existential Threat of Cancer: A Cross‐Sectional Study in a Sample of Cancer Patients

ABSTRACT Cancer can be regarded as an existential threat, since it evokes profound feelings of fear and uncertainty regarding survival and quality of life. While conspiracy theories tend to thrive in existential threat situations, no research has yet examined the role of these theories in the lives of cancer patients. The current research examined the extent to which patients adopt conspiracy theories and whether their belief in them is associated with the use of expressive suppression, self‐esteem, and hopelessness. A cross‐sectional study was conducted with a sample of 192 cancer patients in the treatment phase. To address the research questions, preliminary analyses were performed, followed by the application of SEM techniques. A considerable proportion of respondents (from 28.1% to 43.3%) subscribed to at least one cancer‐related conspiracy theory. The results of the SEM model indicated that only hopelessness exhibited a direct effect on conspiracy beliefs. It was also observed that expressive suppression indirectly predicted conspiracy beliefs through hopelessness, while the indirect effect through self‐esteem was not significant. Concluding, conspiracy theories may serve as a compensatory mechanism for uncertainty among cancer patients. Additionally, suppressors may experience an intensified sense of existential threat, manifesting as a sense of hopelessness, which may foster conspiracy beliefs.