People Who Are More Prone to Believing in Conspiracies

I read an article in Scientific American about how people who feel more anxiety and alienation are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories.  If that's true then our society will become increasingly more prone to them, since the trends of both are rising, especially with all the self-quarantines happening.   

Based on personal experience, I can say it's generally true for the people I know.  My mother and wife have felt a lot of anxiety in recent years, and they seem to have become more susceptible to them.  My aunt felt a lot of both in the past, and she was really into them, but not so much anymore.  Nobody was more into them than my father, who didn't appear to feel anxiety but definitely felt alienated.  The reverse generally rings true for the more stable people I know. My other aunt and her partner don't believe in them- two of the most relaxed and communal people in my life.  Neither does my boss, who does feel a little of these feeling sometimes, but not to the same extent of the others.  

As someone who felt a lot of anxiety and alienation in the past, and who was more prone to conspiracies during the same period, I can tell you why this is happening.  It's because people need a scapegoat when they try to rationalize why the world doesn't make sense, why they're being ignored, why bad things keep happening to them.  Their ego can't handle not understanding why they're alienated and nothing seems to work out for them, so they invent something to explain it.  For example: candid government intervention in their lives, seeking to subvert them at every opportunity.