QAnon Beliefs, Political Radicalization and Support for January 6th Insurrection:
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Writen bySophia Moskalenko; Tomislav Pavlović; Brett Burton - PublisherInforma UK (Taylor & Francis)
- Year2024
This empirical study explores the relationship between QAnon conspiracy beliefs, political radicalization, and support for the January 6th Capitol Hill insurrection, with a special emphasis on gender differences. Based on an online survey of 429 U.S. participants, the research measures not only adherence to QAnon narratives but also assesses the influence of Big Five personality traits on radicalization tendencies. Findings reveal that belief in QAnon conspiracies strongly correlates with endorsement of radical political action and support for the January 6th riot. Personality analysis shows agreeableness as negatively correlated with QAnon beliefs, while openness to experience, particularly among women, was linked with support for the insurrection. Notably, women in the sample expressed higher endorsement of QAnon beliefs than men, suggesting that gendered pathways to radicalization warrant deeper examination. The article contributes to the literature on political extremism by connecting conspiracy ideologies to real-world insurrectionist support and by highlighting gender as an underexplored dimension in extremist mobilization.The article is highly relevant for understanding the psychological, social, and gendered aspects of radicalization in contemporary U.S. politics. Its integration of personality theory with extremist belief systems provides a unique interdisciplinary perspective valuable to peace and counterterrorism research. The gender findings add a novel contribution to debates on conspiracy theory adherence and mobilization dynamics. This makes it particularly suitable for repositories focusing on extremism, radicalization, and sociopolitical violence.

