Some paranormal believers are more stressed – but not all

Belief in the paranormal is linked with stress – but only for certain beliefs, according to a new study on UK residents.

The study, published in PLOS One, found those with “traditional” paranormal beliefs had higher levels of distress, while those with “new age” beliefs did not.

“Historically, research suggests that paranormal beliefs such as superstition increase during times of uncertainty,” lead author Dr Kenneth Drinkwater, a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, tells Cosmos.

“Moreover, stress is associated with reduced psychological well-being.”

The researchers have done previous work which suggests that paranormal belief isn’t directly linked to poor mental health. But studies have suggested that certain types of paranormal belief are linked to stress.

“This study further advances the relationship between paranormal belief, stress, and well-being,” says Drinkwater.

“This is necessary because paranormal belief can be adaptive – that is, help people cope with life stressors.”

The researchers ran an online survey of 3,084 UK residents.

Participants filled out a questionnaire, called the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale, where they ranked how much they agreed with 26 statements relating to a variety of paranormal beliefs.

Participants then completed the Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire, which measures recent levels of distress and coping.

Both scales are established measures of paranormal belief and stress, respectively. But other research, published in 2000, has broken the Revised Paranormal Belief scale into 7 different categories:

• Traditional religious beliefs (such as “I believe in God”, and “There is a heaven and hell”)
• Witchcraft (“Black magic really exists”)
• Psi (“Some individuals are able to levitate objects through mental forces”)
• Superstition (“The number 13 is unlucky”)
• Spiritualism (“It is possible to communicate with the dead”)
• Extraordinary life forms (“The Loch Ness monster of Scotland exists”)
• Precognition (“Astrology is a way to predict the future”)

Researchers have classified the first 2 categories as “traditional paranormal beliefs”, and the latter 5 as “new age philosophies”.

Drinkwater says there is a functional difference between traditional and new age beliefs: “whether belief provides a sense of control at the social (traditional) or individual (new age) level”.

The researchers found that people who scored higher on traditional beliefs were also more likely to show higher distress and reduced ability to cope.

But those who scored higher on new age beliefs had no such link with stress.

This might be linked to sense of control, according to the researchers: traditional beliefs reflect “existence as governed by uncontrollable forces”.

The researchers point out a limitation of their study is that the traditional and new-age distinction “reflect a Western, Abrahamic, predominately Christian perspective”. For instance, belief in the devil is classified as a traditional belief, while reincarnation is classified as new age.

Drinkwater says that the researchers did not ask about the religious or cultural backgrounds of study participants.

The researchers also point out that their study can’t establish cause and effect, saying that more work is needed to investigate the link between traditional paranormal beliefs and stress.

“Although paranormal belief may not itself be predictive of lower well-being, it may indirectly reflect reduced psychological functioning,” they write in their paper.

“From this perspective, like conspiracy theory endorsement, in extreme instances heightened endorsement of paranormal belief could be symptomatic of non-adaptive coping.”