The Effect of Collective Narcissism, Populism and Trust of Older Adults on Conspiracy Mentality: Evidence from Poland

Agata Olszanecka-Marmola; Maciej Marmola; Dariusz Niedbała

doi:10.2478/pce-2025-0018

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The Effect of Collective Narcissism, Populism and Trust of Older Adults on Conspiracy Mentality: Evidence from Poland

Politics in Central Europe

Volume 21 (2025): Issue 3 (September 2025)

By: Agata Olszanecka-Marmola , Maciej Marmola and Dariusz Niedbała

Open Access

|Oct 2025

Abstract

The article examines the impact of collective narcissism, trust and populism on conspiracy mentality among citizens aged 65 and older in Poland. Understanding their behaviours and attitudes is crucial for at least two reasons. First, demographic shifts are leading to a growing proportion of seniors in European societies. Second, as life expectancy increases, older adults remain socially and politically active for longer. This article presents findings from two waves of a longitudinal study (N = 379). Our model confirms that collective narcissism and populism drive generic conspiracist beliefs, while interpersonal and institutional trust have no significant effect.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2025-0018 | Journal eISSN: 2787-9038 | Journal ISSN: 1801-3422

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Language: English

Page range: 457 - 471

Published on: Oct 31, 2025

Published by: Metropolitan University Prague

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

collective narcissism,

trust,

populism,

conspiracy mentality,

older adults

Related subjects:

Social sciences,

Political science,

Political science, other,

International relations

© 2025 Agata Olszanecka-Marmola, Maciej Marmola, Dariusz Niedbała, published by Metropolitan University Prague
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 21 (2025): Issue 3 (September 2025)